The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper
by Pinkshuchan
Summary: Inspired by The Prince and the Pauper. Tired of their daily lives, a constantly angry prince and a peeping tom of a pauper switch lives only to find themselves fighting to stop an ongoing war between two kingdoms over the past. EirixShu and TatsxRyu.
1. Prologue: Beginning of the Conflict

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hiya everyone! My name is Pinkshuchan but you can call me Shu. If you guys know The Three Graviteers, this is another story like it, except this time, this story is based on The Prince and the Pauper. I wanted to make a The Prince and the Pauper story with Gravitation characters, but I was debating on whether I used Yuki and Tatsuha or Shuichi and Ryuichi. In the end, I decided that Yuki and Tatsuha would be best. But Shuichi and Ryuichi will have important parts in this story as Yuki and Tatsuha's love interests. So YukixShu and TatsxRyu fans rejoice. Anyways, here's the disclaimer. This is obviously an AU story. I don't own Gravitation nor The Prince and the Pauper. Gravitation belongs to Maki Murakami and The Prince and the Pauper belongs to Mark Twain. Now, without further adieu, I give you The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper. Enjoy!**

Prologue

The Beginning of the Conflict

Once upon a time, in a kingdom called the Kage Kingdom, there lived a king who loved his kingdom more than all the jewels in the world. One day, he ended up pacing around his room, waiting for life to come. Now just any life, that life was to become his heir. Suddenly, he heard baby cries and ran in to see. A baby boy was born. However, to his dismay, his wife died in the process. He was happy to gain a son but sad to lose a wife. He made a promise to his deceased wife that he would raise their son up to be a strong king for the both of them. And he made sure to keep his word.

Meanwhile, the same exact second the prince was born, a child from the streets was born. His parents loved him very much but they had no money to take care of him. At first, they tried stealing food to survive, but it resulted with the father sent to prison. The mother then knew she had no choice but to place him in an orphanage. The baby pauper lived in there ever since. No one ever knew that except for hair and eyes, the baby prince and the baby pauper looked exactly alike. They never knew the two would eventually meet too. But there's more to the story than that.

The king of the Kage Kingdom was best friends of the king of the kingdom on the other side of the land; the Hikari Kingdom. The two practically grew up as brothers. When they went to see each other one day, an old man who claimed he could see the future predicted that someday, the prince of the Kage Kingdom would fall in love with a princess of the Hikari Kingdom and join the two kingdoms together. Both kings were excited of the news and they waited until the future princess would come.

Four years after the prediction, a baby of the Hikari Kingdom was born. The king of the Kage Kingdom rushed over with his son beside him to see the prince's future fiancee. However, when the king of the Kage Kingdom saw the child, he flew into a rage and began yelling at the king of the Hikari Kingdom; thinking that the old man had conned them. However, they saw something they didn't expect. The prince, who was only 4 years old, walked over to the new born child and looked at it. The baby looked up at him and stretched its arms at him. The prince picked the baby up and held it close to him; never letting go. The two kings realized that maybe the old man was right. That the prediction was just seen wrong. But the king of the Hikari Kingdom decided that his child would be a princess to show that the prediction was true. Only the king and queen of the Hikari Kingdom and the king of the Kage Kingdom knew the truth about the _princess_.

A few days after, the princess was claimed missing. Both kingdoms looked all over for the missing princess, but there was nothing. One day, the soldiers of the Hikari Kingdom found a blood stained baby blanket hidden in the castle of the Kage Kingdom. The king of the Hikari Kingdom was furious and accused the king of the Kage Kingdom to have killed the princess. The king of the Kage Kingdom was outraged to think that his friend would accuse him of such a crime. And so, both kingdoms began a war over the death of the princess. However, there was hope in both kingdoms that maybe the princess was still alive somewhere and would one day come back to stop the war. All they could do is hope.

**Pinkshuchan: Well, that's the beginning of The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper. The next chapter will actually go right into the story. This was just the prologue to show you how the story will go. But I hope you like it so far. Read and Review!**


	2. A Wish For Freedom

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hi everyone! Pinkshuchan here! I'm sure the prologue was boring, but this chapter will be better. Sorry if the characters end up a little OCC. I tried to make them as close to their character as possible but if they don't, I'm sorry. I also want to warn you that throughout the whole story, Yuki is called Eiri because that is his real name. I was trying to find a way to have him remain as Yuki but I could not think how. So, throughout the whole story, Yuki is Eiri. Now without adieu, I give you the true first chapter of The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper. Enjoy!**

Chapter 1

A Wish For Freedom

Sixteen years had passed since the Hikari Kingdom and the Kage Kingdom began their conflict and the war still raged on. The Kage Kingdom ended up in poverty by all the tax that was called for in the king's name. By the time winter came, the kingdom barely had enough money to buy food. Not even the orphanage due to the fact that people couldn't pay and keep a child while the war was going on.

K, captain of the Kage Kingdom's royal knights was also husband to the orphanage's owner, Judy. He left along with some of the strongest knights in the kingdom to fight the Hikari Kingdom; leaving Judy to take care of all the orphans herself. However, she was glad that she had three older orphans who had not been adopted to help her out as well as work around the streets to get some money to help the orphanage. First, there was Hiroshi or Hiro as everyone knew him as. He was the oldest of the three and everyone looked up to him like he was their big brother. Shuichi was the second. Everyone very close to him and knew him very well believed that he must've hit his head very hard as a baby. Why? Because he seemed to think like he was a woman. He would always dress in any dress he could find and he always called himself a girl. They realized that it was pointless to tell him that he was a boy so they just kept it silent about it. No one couldn't tell the difference anyway due to his feminine appearance and his high pitched voice. And then, there was the third orphan.

Tatsuha was the laziest of the three. He didn't want to work. He hated it. All he wanted to do was either sit on his lazy ass all day or walk around the street for any beautiful girl to come along. It was known in the streets of the Kage Kingdom that he is the famous pervert that any woman needed to look out for. He would always try to look under a girl's skirt no matter where he was and he would always peek in the change rooms to look at the girls changing. Yes, he was that much of a menace.

One day, Tatsuha was wandering around the streets to find a girl who would be naive enough to be with him. He eventually found a girl who could possibly be it. He was about to walk over to her until he ended up tackled onto the cold winter snow.

"I finally caught your scheming ass, Tatsuha." said a familiar voice Tatsuha recognized very well. He looked up.

"Aww, Hiro! I was about to score with a hot babe." Tatsuha whined.

"I don't care." said Hiro "You have work to do and I'm going to make sure you do it."

"Can't I just try to get a date with her?"

"No. You have a job to do. Now go do it!"

Tatsuha sighed. "Ok. You win. I'll go do my job." He then walked away. Hiro began to believe that he finally managed to convince Tatsuha to work. That was until he saw something flying in the sky; landing in the snow pile next to him. It was Tatsuha. A familiar figure who was the cause of Tatsuha's high landing was walking over to him.

"Tatsuha! What the hell are you trying to do?" yelled the familiar figure's voice "You're supposed to help get money for the orphanage, not go feeling me up."

"I can't help it, Shuichi." said Tatsuha after he got his head out of the snow pile "It's just too easy with you."

Hiro glared at him. "I thought you said you were going to do your job?"

"I was. My job is to annoy the hell out of Shuichi."

"TATSUHA!" Both Hiro and Shuichi yelled at the same time.

"What? Am I supposed to do something else?"

"How about helping the people that got caught in the surprise attack fix their houses." said Hiro.

"Or help clean broken glass from the floors." said Shuichi.

"Carry raw materials to the shops."

"Deliver messages to people who are too busy to do it themselves."

"Plow snow off the ground."

"Get firewood for everyone."

"I GET IT!" Tatsuha was tired of being told what to do. "You want me to work. I can understand that. But why am I getting scolded for this? Shuichi doesn't do any work either."

"Yes I do." said Shuichi, feeling outraged "I've been working day and night to help Miss Judy earn some money for the orphanage."

"Yeah, when you're not daydreaming that 'your prince will come for you'." As he said that, he leaned forward towards Shuichi and batted his eyelashes. Shuichi was ready to smack him until Hiro stopped the both of them from hurting each other.

"Knock it off you two." said Hiro "Shuichi, don't you have to go help clean everywhere in the kingdom?"

"Yes I do." said Shuichi "Hiro, please do something about Tatsuha. Women, including myself, can't feel safe in this town if he's always going around like this."

"I promise, Shuichi. You have nothing to worry about." said Hiro. Feeling assured, Shuichi left; leaving Tatsuha and Hiro to talk.

"Hiro, why do you do this?" asked Tatsuha.

"Because I'm responsible unlike a certain someone." said Hiro.

"No, I mean why do you always treat Shuichi like he _is_ a girl? He's going to find out that he's male someday and he's going to feel embarassed."

"I didn't know you cared about him."

"Woah! Don't get the wrong idea Hiro. I don't have any feelings for him. I just don't understand why you let this charade go on?"

"Well, you'd have to ask Miss Judy. She was the one who said we should keep it a secret for now. Anyways, you should be getting to work. Weren't you supposed to help out the blacksmith? She's gonna throw a fit when you get over there."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Tatsuha just began walking away while waving his hand to Hiro. After a little walk, he finally made it to the blacksmith. A woman with fiery red hair stood there waiting for him.

"You're late, Tatsuha." said the woman "Judy will be angry to hear that you came late."

"Yeah, yeah! I know, Reiji." said Tatsuha "What do you need help with?"

"I need you to get this fresh made horseshoes onto the soldiers' horses. They need it quickly before they go back to the war. And don't slack off! I'm still mad at you for trying to feel me up last week."

And so, Tatsuha got to work. However, the horses didn't really like him and it made the job hard. He couldn't take anymore when he got kicked by the fifth horse.

"I hate this life." he said "I'm tired of all the work I do day and night."

"What are you talking about?" asked Reiji as she came into the stable with some meat, bread and water "This is the first work you've ever really done. Everyday, you've done nothing but slack off and flirt with women."

"Well, I'm tired of this life. Period. I don't want to work for the rest of my life. I want to just sit on my butt all day eating junk food until I throw up and relax by a nice warm fire than walk around in the bitter cold. I want to live like a prince."

Reiji began to laugh her head off. "You... you want to be... giggle... a prince?" She began laughing harder if that was possible "You'll never last a week as a prince." She walked away still laughing from what Tatsuha said. Tatsuha just ignored her and began dreaming about what it would be like to live as a prince.

Meanwhile in the castle, Prince Eiri sat at his desk as he listened to his lesson for the day. At least, he tried to listen. However, he couldn't get his mind out of the clouds as he stared out at the window. He was tired of staying inside the castle day and night. All he really wanted was to leave and see what it was like out there. For some reason, he felt like there was something he was missing that was out there somewhere. In his dreams, he would always see a beautiful maiden standing in front of them and they would be dancing in nothing but the air. As he was pondering through his thoughts, a smack on the desk brought him back to his senses to see his tutor, Master Kitazawa, glaring down at him.

"What?" the prince snapped at the older man.

"Listen Your Highness." said Kitazawa "I know you don't like this but at least pay attention. You need to know all of this when you eventually become king."

"It's not my fault you're repeating the same lessons over and over again. There's not much to learn. I've already memorized everything. If I try thinking about it any more, my head will explode from it screaming in my ears. Besides, it's not like I'll be king any day soon."

Sakano, the royal advisor, walked over to Eiri. "But Your Highness. You must be ready in case that time _does_ come. One day you will be king. And you will have to marry Princess Ayaka."

Eiri groaned. "Not Princess Ayaka! Why her?"

"Why not? She's kind, intelligent, beautiful. What could she lack?"

"How about the size of her breasts?"

"THERE'S MORE TO A WOMAN THAN BREAST SIZE! YOU ARE TO MARRY HER AND THAT'S FINAL!"

Eiri got out of his seat. "I'm getting tired of this." he said "I'm going back to my chambers. Don't follow me unless you want an early grave."

No one ever knew why Prince Eiri of the Kage Kingdom was so angry all the time. Some people believed it was because he was stressed from all the work he was given. Others believed he just didn't like anybody or life for that matter. However, when anyone asks about his temper, he clearly explains that he was missing something that kept his anger out of control and kept him sane. As he walked through the halls to his bedroom, he heard voices from outside.

"What the hell is a peasant like you doing here at the castle? Shouldn't you go do whatever it is that peasants do?"

"I'm sorry sir. I was just here to check if the castle needed an extra hand with cleaning."

Eiri walked over the closest window he could get to to see one of the guards holding the arm of a peasant girl at the gate. She wore a long ocean blue dress with some colorful patches sewn on the dress to cover up holes and a light blue hood and cape. From where he was standing, her hood covered his sight of her face. He watched as the guard pushed her down onto the snow. As soon as he saw that, Eiri ran down to the door and walked out to see the guard kicking snow at the girl.

"Stop that right this instant!" he commanded the guard. The guard looked over at the prince and bowed; forgetting about the girl.

"Good day Your Highness." he said "What can I do to serve you?"

"What were you doing to that girl?"

The guard looked over at the girl. "Well, she was causing trouble so I was giving her her proper punishment."

"Really? Because from what I saw, you physically abused her because she came to help with cleaning. And you do not have authority over who should be punished and who should not. That is for either me or my father to decide."

"But Your Highness! I've seen the castle. It's completely clean. And how can you know she's telling the truth? She could be a thief trying to steal money."

"I would never!" said the girl "I'd rather sell myself and work hand and foot for all my life than steal from His Highness and his father. I need the money but I'm not going to take it instead of earn it."

"Well, there you go." said Eiri "And by the way, the castle may be clean but the knights' quarters looks like a pig sty. I shall escort her there to help clean since you're obviously busy to do it yourself."

"But Your Highness..."

"I don't care what you say. If you hurt her or anyone like this again, I won't hesitate to have you executed. Is that clear?"

The guard bowed. "Yes Your Highness."

Eiri grabbed the girl's wrist and they left to go to the knight's quarters. As they walked, he could not believe the actions that guard was doing. It made him furious. Then again, everything in his life made him furious. As his anger built up, he didn't notice that his grip on the girl's wrist became tighter.

"Your Highness?" asked the girl.

"WHAT?" he snapped with all his anger as he turned around to face her. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. There in front of him was a face far beautiful than he had ever seen before. She had big wide violet eyes with long perfectly curved eyelashes framing them. Her cheeks were a rosy pink and her skin looked so soft. Short pink locks framed her face. The prince found himself in a trance as his eyes never left her face. He realized how he sounded earlier to her and cleared his throat. "I mean, yes? What can I do for you?"

"Um..." She glanced down at his wrist. Eiri looked down and realized his grip. He let go.

"I'm really sorry about that." he said "I let my anger get the better of me."

"No. It's my fault." said the girl "I'm the one who caused this mess in the first place. You were only trying to help me."

"But a prince must always watch over his people for without them, a kingdom would cease to be. So I must take the responsibility of what happened."

"But..."

"I'M AT FAULT AND THAT'S THAT!"

Silence began to flood the area. "Anyways." said the girl "Where can I find the knights' quarters?"

"What?" Then, Eiri remembered. "Oh, that's right! You're here to clean it." He felt so embarassed. He's never been out of anything unless it was on purpose. So why now? "I'll escort you. You're safe as long as you're with me."

He lent his arm to the girl. She wrapped her atm around his. "Thank you, Your Highness. But won't you get in trouble?"

"If it's to help someone such as yourself, I don't give a damn about what everyone else says."

They began walking to where knights' quarters. As they walked, Eiri couldn't get over the girl's beauty. How could someone like that be a peasant girl? That was a mystery. Eventually, they made it to the knights' quarters and walked in to find nothing but dirt and garbage everywhere.

"Do you need any cleaning supplies?" Eiri asked.

"No thank you." said the girl "There are usually some cleaning supplies in the closet." She walked over to the closet and inside were the cleaning supplies just like she said there was. Eiri watched as the girl was trying to clean the whole room by herself. He felt like he was in pain watching her clean alone. He grabbed a broom and began sweeping. The girl became shocked.

"Your Highness. You shouldn't be doing this?" she said.

"It's all right." said Eiri "I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty. Besides, it'll be done quicker with two people."

The girl decided that it was best not to argue with him and continued cleaning. By the time they were finished, night fell. The prince escorted the girl to the gate for he worried that she wouldn't find her way out in the darkness. When they made it, the girl walked forward and faced him. Eiri couldn't get over how angelic she looked under the moon. The light made it look like her skin was glowing white.

"Well, thank you for everything Your Highness." she said.

"You don't need to thank me." said Eiri "I needed to do something other than reading history books and sitting to lectures all day. Besides, I needed the workout." He took out a small bag and gave it to her. "Here. This is for your hard work."

The girl looked at him; not believing everything he was doing. "Your Highness. That bag has so much money in it. I can't take it."

"You earned it. I want you to have it. After all, you said you needed it, right?"

"But I didn't expect to be given so much."

"Please take it. I really want you too."

The girl honestly couldn't say no so she took the bag. "Thank you Your Highness. You don't know how much this means to me!"

"I'm glad." He looked up at the sky. "Can you just answer one question?"

"Anything, Your Highness."

"What is it like to live outside the castle walls?"

"Honestly? It's a living hell. It's hard to live out there. Working day and night, having to sleep in the cold with nothing but a hard bed and worn out blankets. It's terrible."

"I would rather that than this. To tell you the truth, I'm tired of my life as a prince. I want to be out there and have a little fun for once in my life. No lessons to sit to, no schedules, I could just sleep in all day and no one would care, and I could be with anyone I want to be."

The girl walked over to the prince so they are very close to each other. "You're very unusual Your Highness. But, it's a good unusual."

He leaned close to her ready to kiss her. "I'd like you to call me Eiri."

She moved back from him; her face cherry red. "I cannot. A peasant girl such as myself should never call His Highness by his name. It's improper."

"Then can I at least have _your_ name?"

"Your Highness! Where are you Your Highness?"

Eiri cursed Sakano for noticing his disappearance. He was about to know the girl's name too. Suddenly, he noticed the girl was leaving.

"I should get going." she said "You don't want to worry your servants any longer." She curtsied. "Thank you Your Highness. It was a pleasure meeting you." Without another word, she opened the gate and slipped out; hiding herself in darkness. Eiri felt his anger rising out of him. If it wasn't for Sakano, he would have the girl's name. Then, he began to realize something. He didn't feel a single bit angry when he was with the girl, and now he felt like he wanted to murder someone. He's always been angry but he was always calm near her. He began to think if maybe she was what he was missing. He had to find her again. But first, he walked back inside the castle, assured everyone that he was alright, went to his bedroom, went to the balcony and looked up at the stars; wondering where the beautiful maiden could be.

Meanwhile at the orphanage, Shuichi managed to make it back without getting hurt. The orphanage was a big building but not as bif as the castle. It had many rooms; most of them were bedroom for the orphans. When he made it inside and walked to his room, he was greeted by a tiny meow. He knew that meow very well.

"Mr. Meow! Were you waiting for me to come home?" he asked.

The cat responded with another meow. Shuichi picked him up and twirled around with him in his arms. Every time he got home, he would always love to tell Mr. Meow everything that happened that day. In a way, Mr. Meow was like his diary.

"Oh Mr. Meow. I had the most wonderful day today. I got to meet His Highness Prince Eiri today." Mr. Meow meowed in confusion. "I know that everyone says that he's supposed to be cruel and ruthless like his father but he's far from it. He's sweet and kind and gentle and he even helped me clean part of the castle." Mr. Meow meowed again. "I know. I shouldn't get my hopes up. After all, I'm nothing but a lowly peasant girl and he is the prince. Besides, he's already engaged to Princess Ayaka. I've heard that she's very beautiful." Shuichi began to cry as he walked to his bedroom window with Mr. Meow in his arms. "I don't know what to do, Mr. Meow. I've fallen for him, but I know I can never be with him." He looked up at the stars. "I just wish that I can be free of this harsh reality and forever be in my dream world where I'm a princess and where there are no wars. To be in a place where I can marry someone like Prince Eiri. But I don't think it'll come true." He walked over to his bed, placed Mr. Meow down, and began crying himself to sleep.

**Pinkshuchan: Well, that's Chapter 1. It's a really long chapter but I couldn't help it. I've mentioned some of the characters but more will be mentioned in the next chapter. Read and Review!**


	3. The Prince's Decision

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hi everyone! Pinkshuchan here! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I introduced some of the characters in the last chapter, but now I reveal the rest of them. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

The Prince's Decision

"TATSUHA!"

The whole orphanage woke up at the sudden outburst. The younger orphans began crying at the shock. Judy, the orphanage's owner, ran as fast as she could to calm the children down. After she did, she stormed to where she heard the voice to see what the problem was. She came in to find Tatsuha running around and jumping over what little amount of furniture was in the room and Shuichi chasing after him.

"Tatsuha! When I get my hands on you, you're dead!" Shuichi yelled but luckily not as loud as before.

"There's no way you can catch me, Shuichi." said Tatsuha "Especially in a dress."

"That's what you think!"

Judy was not surprised. Shuichi and Tatsuha would do this everyday. Tatsuha would tease Shuichi and Shuichi would take it seriously and hunt Tatsuha down. She knew this had to stop.

"Tatsuha! Shuichi! You both get over here this instant!" she yelled. The two orphans knew that when Judy needed them to do something, they should do it. They walked over to her and looked down. "Now what happened?"

"I was trying to get a nice sleep since I was working late last night." said Shuichi "It was good until I felt my blanket get pulled off of me and my skirt was being raised. Then, I heard Mr. Meow hissing and I realized that it was Tatsuha. In other words, he was peeping underneath my skirt while I was sleeping again."

"Oh come on Shuichi!" said Tatsuha "Can't you take a little joke? I was only fooling around with you."

"It was still very rude of you."

"It's not like I was going to do anything to you. No offense, but you are the last person I'd ever want to sleep with."

"Are you implying that I'm ugly?"

"Are you kidding? I've seen chickens who are cuter than you!"

Shuichi was ready to kill him. Judy went in front of them. "Ok! Break it up you two." She brought Shuichi close to her. "Shuichi sweetie, you know well that you are a very beautiful girl. Don't let anyone tell you different!"

"But Shuichi is..."

He was about to say the truth that Shuichi was a boy until Judy glared at him. "Tatsuha, shouldn't you go help Hiroshi gets some firewood from out back?" Tatsuha knew she knew what he was gonna say. In fact, she knew better than anyone that Shuichi was male. After all, she was the one that changed all the orphans' diapers.

"Yeah, yeah!" said Tatsuha as he walked out the door. After he was gone, Judy went into the kitchen with Shuichi following.

"I didn't hear you come in last night." said Judy as she was making herself tea "Were you late coming home?"

"Cleaning the knights' quarters took a lot harder than I thought it would." said Shuichi "But I had a lot of fun."

"Why? What happened?"

"Well..." Shuichi couldn't tell her he met the prince. He didn't know how she'd react. "It was my first time in the castle and it looked amazing! Am I not supposed to have fun going to the castle my first time?"

"That's not what I meant. I just wanted to know what made it fun. I'm glad you did though. Anyways, did you get paid a fair amount for your work?"

"Yes, I did!" Shuichi handed her the bag of money. Judy was shocked.

"Shuichi! How'd you get this much?"

"Uh, well... I'm amazing at cleaning I guess."

"Well, it doesn't matter. This should be able to pay the tax. Of course, unless the tax increases."

Shuichi walked over beside her. "Don't think that, Miss Judy. If they increase the tax, _no one_ would have any money left. The king wouldn't be _that_ heartless. Would he?"

"This war is driving _everyone_ insane Shuichi. Both the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom are acting like animals. Think of all the bloodshed they've caused. Especially to the children. It's unforgivable!"

"Miss Judy? I've been meaning to ask this. How did you find me? You know, when I was a baby."

"The same way my husband and I found many other orphans." Judy walked out of the kitchen with her tea and sat down on the couch near the fire. Shuichi followed her.

"No. I mean, what's my story behind how I was found and why I was taken to the orphanage?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"I don't know." Shuichi sat down next to her. "I just feel like there's something out there for me. I don't know what, but there's something. Something important. Something I should know. But I don't know what it is."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out eventually, but for now your place is here in the orphanage."

Shuichi looked down. "I guess so."

"Shuichi. Why don't you stay at the orphanage today? You've been working very hard recently and I think you need a break from all this hard work." Judy stood up and went back to the kitchen with a now empty cup. Shuichi followed once again.

"I can't do that, Miss Judy. The orphanage needs money."

"Hiroshi and Tatsuha will still work for the money. Besides, I need you here in the orphanage. I promised all the younger orphans I'd take them out to play near the creek since there's lots of fresh snow they can play in and the creek is frozen so I don't have to worry about them falling in and drowning. However, the creek is far away from the orphanage and I can't leave it by itself..."

Shuichi took her hands into his. "I understand. Go. I'll take care of here."

Judy brought Shuichi into a hug. "I'm so glad to have all of you here. I love you all as if you were my own children."

Shuichi looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "Even Tatsuha?"

Judy giggled. "Yes, even Tatsuha."

After that, Judy went to get the other children and they left to the creek; leaving Shuichi to take care of the orphanage. He went up to his room, grabbed Mr. Meow, and went to where the younger orphans slept. He walked until he reached the last door to the right and opened the door that led to a bedroom. In the bed right beside the window was a little boy with dirty blond hair and dark blue eyes. He was small and very skinny and his skin was very white and pale. As soon as Shuichi closed the door behind him, the boy looked over at him to show he noticed his presence.

"Shuichi!" he said excitedly before he started to cough. Shuichi ran to his side and helped him stop coughing.

"You need to rest, Riku." said Shuichi "You're not well."

The boy, Riku, just looked up at him. "I'm sorry." he whispered due to his weak voice "I'm just happy to see you haven't forgotten about me."

Shuichi pulled him close to him. "I would never forget you Riku. I've just been so busy with work and everything. If I could, I would just throw it all away."

"Why don't you?"

"I can't. I need to work so we can all stay here. I work because I care."

"I miss it when you would always play with me everyday. We would play Knights!"

"I remember that game." Shuichi giggled "It took a lot of convincing, but I got Hiro to be the dragon."

"And I was the hero!"

"Yes."

"And you were the princess I had to save."

"Yes, I remember."

"And everytime I defeated the dragon, you would always give me a kiss!"

"You mean like this?" Shuichi asked, giving Riku a kiss on the forehead.

"Yeah!" Riku ended up coughing again. Shuichi tried helping him stop coughing again.

"I'll go get you some water." he said as he ran into the kitchen and grabbed a glass. As soon as he finished pourring water into the glass, he went back to Riku's room and gave the sick boy his drink. As soon as he finished drinking, he laid back down in his bed.

"Shuichi?" he asked "Would I ever get better?"

"Of course." said Shuichi, pulling the thick blanket over Riku "But you need to rest."

"Would you still come see me even if I'm better?"

"Of course I would."

"Do you like me?"

"Of course."

"Then can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Could you... possibly... be my mama? Even if it's just pretend?"

Shuichi brought him in his arms. "Oh Riku, of course. If I could, I _would_ adopt you. But with what's going on with the war and with the town in distress, it's hard for everyone. I promise when the war is over and I get enough money to live on my own and pay my expenses, I'll adopt you."

Riku smiled as he fell asleep. Shuichi laid him down on the bed and just sat there looking through the window at the sky; wishing for life to be better.

Meanwhile at the castle, Eiri was in the training field with his sister's husband's cousin, Suguru, who was the heir of the Kaze Kingdom. They were practicing on their archery and Eiri was determined to make a bullseye on the target 15 miles away.

"There is no way you're going to make it." said Suguru.

"Shut up!" said Eiri "I'll make it. I know I will."

"But it's impossible."

Eiri glared at him. "I said shut your trap or I'll make you."

Suguru just stopped talking. When Eiri starts giving threats, he knew that meant to stop. After all, the prince never goes back on a threat he makes. Eiri raised his bow with the arrow, aimed at the target and fired. Bullseye! He got it right in the middle. Suguru was dumbfounded.

"Well, I can see why you are known as the Great Prince Eiri of the Kage Kingdom." said Suguru "You must've had lots of ladies fall for you."

"I wouldn't know exactly considering I haven't met a lot of girls BECAUSE I'M STUCK IN THIS DAMN CASTLE!"

"Sorry. I didn't know."

"Forget it! I'm going back to my chambers. And don't follow me unless you want your feet torn off."

And so, Eiri began to walk to his room, but before he could, Sakano ran over to him.

"Your Highness!" he called out "I've been looking all over for you. I need you to come with me."

"What is it?" Eiri snapped "Can't you see I'm tired and that I want to stay in my room the rest of the day?"

"But Your Highness, Her Majesty Queen Mika of the Homura Kingdom who is also your older sister and her husband King Tohma have come to visit and your father wants you to join them."

"As if I'll do what the old man tells me to."

"Please Your Highness. You must! You don't want to be rude to your family and your guests and not show up when someone you haven't seen in a while comes to visit. It doesn't matter whether you want to or not. You are going to see them and enjoy their visit."

"Fine. I'll go see them, but I won't enjoy it."

Eiri went with Sakano to the audience hall where his father, Mika and her lady in waiting Noriko, Tohma, and Suguru were waiting for him. He hated family reunions considering that meant he would have to talk with them and, well, he just didn't like that.

"Hello Eiri." said Mika, starting the conversation "It's been a while. How have you been?"

"I've been good!" said Eiri in a sarcastically happy voice "It's fun to be in the castle day and night and to have to be married to someone I don't love."

Mika crossed her arms. "Still have that bitter attitude of yours, don't you?" Eiri just sat there.

"Well don't worry, Eiri." said Tohma "We've been searching far and wide and we may have found something that may cheer you up."

Eiri raised an eyebrow. "And what the hell would that be?"

"We got you your own personal jester. He's the funniest in all of the Homura Kingdom. Jester!"

Suddenly, something colorful cartwheeled into the room and made a flip in the air before posing in front of them. It was a man with brown hair and blue eyes in a colorful jester outfit.

"Hello." said the jester "It's a pleasure to meet you Your Highness, nanoda. My name is Ryuichi." He pulled out a pink stuffed rabbit. "And this is Kumagoro. We'll be telling jokes for you. You ready? This one's one of my favourites, nanoda. We all know the chicken that crossed the road, right? We've heard a lot of those jokes. But does anyone know what the chicken's name was?" Everyone was silent. "No one knows? Ok. His name is Henry. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Ryuichi was the only one laughing. Everyone else just stared at him. "I thought you said he was the funniest." said Eiri.

"He is! Unfortunately." said Tohma "No one else ever got this close to being funny."

Eiri stood up. "Well, in that case, I am going to my room."

"Eiri, they were just trying to help." said the king.

"Are they really helping? By getting me a jester who's not good at telling jokes? I don't want a jester, I don't want money, I don't want to be served hand and foot, and more importantly, I don't want to live one more day in this castle."

"But Eiri..."

"No! Listen old man! You say I can have anything I want, but yet the one thing I really want you won't give to me. Just one day out of the castle. That's all I ask. But do you give it to me? No! You expect me to live in this damn castle the rest of my life."

"The reason why I don't let you outside the castle is because I don't want you to get hurt."

"What? Because of the war against the Hikari Kingdom? Father! I'm an expert in sword fighting, I can shoot an arrow to a bullseye 15 miles away. I can take care of myself. And besides, why is this war going on anyway? From what I've read in the history books, the Hikari Kingdom and the Kage Kingdom had been like best friends for generations. So why this sudden act? Why fight a meaningless war like this?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"I won't understand unless you tell me!"

"ENOUGH!" Now the king was furious. "Eiri, go to your room. And I don't want to hear anything come out of your mouth. Now go!"

Eiri really wanted to say something to him, but he couldn't. So he stormed off. Everyone watched as the prince left the room in silence.

"Father?" asked Mika, worried about her father.

The king just sat there. "Maybe you should go." he said "Besides, who would be there to rule the kingdom if you aren't. Jester, there is a room set up for you. Sakano will show you where to go."

"Thank you Your Majesty." said Ryuichi. And so, everyone left; leaving the king alone to think. Why was he fighting this war with the Hikari Kingdom? They _were_ friends, weren't they? He didn't know anymore. As he pondered through his thoughts, someone walked into the room.

"Hello Your Majesty."

The king looked to see that Kitazawa had walked in. "Kitazawa. I don't know what to do." said the king.

"Well, I have been serving you since you first became king." said Kitazawa "What is it you're confused about?"

"I'm thinking maybe my son is right. Maybe this _is_ a pointless war. Maybe I should try to make peace with them again."

"After what happened sixteen years ago? I mean, after all, the king of the Hikari Kingdom accused you to have murdered his only heir, the princess of the Hikari Kingdom."

"I did absolutely no such thing!"

"But he believed you did. Didn't you say before that you were shocked and dismayed when you first saw the child?"

"Yes, but even so, I still wanted the princess to be my son's bride. However, it will never happen."

"I understand Your Majesty. After all, there was no proof you ever did such a crime. And to think you were ever friends with him."

The king stood up. "You are absolutely right, Kitazawa. The war will continue and that bastard of a king will have to ask for my forgiveness for him ever accusing me to kill his child in order to keep his life." And so, he left to make more orders on the war. Little did he know that Kitazawa was smirking behind his back.

In his bedroom, Eiri was just looking up at the ceiling. He had finally decided what he was going to do. Father's permission or not, he was going to leave the castle and live the life he wanted to live. He grabbed an old worn out cloak, put it on to cover his fancy clothes, put the hood on to cover his face, walked to the balcony, and climbed down the vines that grew beside the castle. After he made it to the snow covered ground, he snuck to the gate and became free.

**Pinkshuchan: Well, I hope that was a good chapter. I've introduced a lot of the characters and lots of them will have a very important role in the story. Also, thanks to my friend GrimmjowXDJaggerjack for helping me with the joke. Read and Review everyone!**


	4. The Meeting

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hiya everyone! This is Pinkshuchan! I glad that this story is entertaining. Now, this is the moment you've been waiting for. You all know what that is. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter. I know I do.**

Chapter 3

The Meeting

A new day had started and everyone at the orphanage woke up peacefully with nothing to ruin the morning. That was until they heard Shuichi and Tatsuha going at it again. When would those two ever stop? Judy began to think she would need to make cages for the two of them so there would be peace in the mornings for once. As soon as she calmed them down, she made breakfast for the two and Hiro before they had to work.

"So, what's your plan for jobs today?" she asked.

"Well, I'm making sure Tatsuha works today." said Hiro.

"Oh come on Hiro!" said Tatsuha "I worked yesterday and the day before. Isn't that enough?"

"What are you talking about? The day before, you only tried to put horseshoes on five horses before quitting and yesterday, _I_ was doing the work. You were just sitting on your butt doing nothing."

"I wasn't doing nothing. I was the instructions guy."

"You were spying on women!"

"Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"

Hiro, Shuichi, and Judy groaned. When would Tatsuha learn? "No Tatsuha." said Hiro "That's not what you were supposed to do. And so today, you are to actually work. No slacking off, no quitting. Actual work Tatsuha!"

"Ok! Ok! Fine! I'll work." Tatsuha and Hiro walked out to work.

The job they had to do today was clear snow off the pathways leading into the Kage Kingdom. It was a lot of work; especially for the two of them. Tatsuha groaned. "Why do we have to do this?" he asked.

"Because we have to." said Hiro.

"No really. Why?"

"Just get to work."

Tatsuha hated to work. All he wanted was to just go find a woman to score with. He looked at Hiro. He looked like he was focusing to much on work to notice anything Tatsuha was doing. That gave him an idea.

"Now Tatsuha. You better not be slacking again." said Hiro. Tatsuha didn't respond. He turned around to see something he didn't expect to happen.

Tatsuha left.

"TATSUHA!"

Meanwhile, Eiri was wandering around the streets of the Kage Kingdom. It was far greater than he expected it to be. The houses didn't look as nice as the castle but he would prefer to live in one of them instead of living in the castle. Seeing them up close was different than from seeing them from the castle. At least he'd be free to do whatever he wants to do. Suddenly, he heard a voice; a beautiful singing voice. He was determined to find where it came from. He followed the voice to what looked like the square. In the middle was a stone fountain, but no water was coming out due to the fact it was winter. Eiri looked around for the owner of the voice until he saw a familiar face standing near the fountain.

It was the girl he met two days ago. Eiri was so glad to see her again, his heart felt like it would just jump right out of his chest. Especially just by listening to her voice. He wanted to run up to her and hug her, but he didn't want to scare her. So he just watched her as she was singing. He noticed that in the snow beside her was an old grey mug. He figured it was where people passing by who heard her sing put some money for her. After she finished her song, she picked up the mug and began to walk away until three sleazy looking men stood in front of her.

"Look what we have here boys!" said the man who looked like he was leader "A cute little kitten walking in the snow. Is that money she's holding?"

"Yes." said the girl "But it's something you can earn yourselves if you work. Now if you excuse me..."

"Now wait a minute. What good is working if you can just take it?" The leader was about to take the money filled mug until the girl moved away; clutching the cup close to her chest.

"There's no way you'll be getting this money! This is for the orphanage!"

"Awww. For the orphanage; a home for scrawny little punks who no one would ever love because they're freaks. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"That's not true!"

"Whatever! Give us the dough little kitten!"

"No!"

"Give it, you little wench!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"HEY!"

They all looked at the 'hey'. It came from Eiri who stood in front of them looking confident. Because of the hood he was wearing, no one knew he was the prince. The leader walked over to him.

"What do you want, buster?" he asked.

"I ask that you leave this beautiful young woman alone." said Eiri.

"And what if I don't? Huh? What if I don't?"

"You'll wish you've never been born."

All three men laughed. "_I'll_ wish I wasn't born? I think it's _you_ who'll wish for it when you mess with me."

And so, the leader lunged to Eiri, but before he could make a move, Eiri grabbed his arm and flipped him. He looked over at the girl. "RUN! NOW!" he yelled.

The girl did what he told her to do and ran. The two other men went to help their leader but Eiri was too good a fighter for them to handle. However, it was three against one. He knew he wouldn't be able to take them on by himself for long. But he had to. He had to protect the girl.

Meanwhile, Shuichi was trying to run away as fast as he could. He wanted to go back and help his mysterious savior but he didn't what he would do. After all, in his head, he believes he's a defenseless peasant girl. He continued running until he bumped into someone. He looked up with big terrified eyes to see that it was Tatsuha. He almost didn't recognize him with his hood on.

"Hey! Shuichi! What's wrong?" he asked.

"Tatsuha..." said Shuichi "When... I was in... square... there were... these men and... they tried to take my money but... then this mysterious man... he came and he's fighting them now. I don't think he can take them on on his own!"

Tatsuha became excited. Finally something he could do that wasn't working. Besides, if he does this, the orphanage and the rest of the kingdom could call him a hero and he really wanted to kick some ass.

"Go back to the orphanage! I'll save the day!" And so, Tatsuha ran to the square. As soon as he made it, he saw the hooded guy losing to the three guys Shuichi talked about. That didn't scare Tatsuha a bit. He ran over to them and gave a good kick on one of the guys.

"Hey!" said Tatsuha "Why don't you bastards go find some chicks instead of doing this? Oh wait! You guys are too ugly to score chicks."

They were ready to kill him until Eiri stepped in. Both Tatsuha and Eiri were fighting the thieves. It was a tough battle, but the two managed to defeat them. Suddenly, they noticed that guards were coming. They knew it wouldn't be a good idea to stick around so they ran until they found a place behind an abandoned house to hide in and rest.

"You... you're pretty good..." said Tatsuha, trying to catch his breath.

"Well... you're not... so bad yourself..." said Eiri as he did the same.

They rested a bit until they had caught their breaths and were no longer sore or tired from the battle. Neither saw each other's face due to the hoods they were wearing. That was until Tatsuha sneezed so loud, the snow that rested on the roof of the house fell onto them and knocked their hoods off.

"Are you ok?" asked Tatsuha.

"I'm fine no thanks to your sneeze." said Eiri.

The two looked over at each other and couldn't believe their eyes on what they saw; except for hair and eye color, they looked like twins. They were so surprised, they both fell back. Was it real? Were they really seeing what they were seeing?

"No way!" said Tatsuha "You look like me and I look like you!"

"I believe what you're trying to say is 'We're look-alikes'." said Eiri.

Tatsuha started laughing. "The orphanage isn't going to believe that I have a twin. And we're not even related."

"That's kinda what a look-alike means. Someone who looks like you but isn't related to you. If it's an evil spirit that looks like you, it's called a doppelganger. Nonetheless, we are look-alikes."

"Whatever dude." He raised his hand to Eiri. "The name's Tatsuha. And you are?"

"None of your business."

"Come on bro! It's not everyday you meet your look-alike. Please?"

"As long as you keep your big mouth shut and never mention this to anyone here."

"My lips are sealed. Now tell me!"

Eiri sighed. "My name is Eiri."

"Eiri? As in 'Prince' Eiri?" Eiri didn't say a word. "Omigod! _The_ Prince Eiri here and he looks exactly like me!"

"Not exactly. We look identical except for hair and eyes. You have dark hair and eyes and I have bright hair and eyes."

"Still, you're the prince and you and I are look-alikes. You gotta admit that's pretty cool."

"Whatever. A pauper looks like me and that's supposed to be cool." Then, Eiri had an idea. "Stay here Tatsuha."

"Why?"

"Just do so! It's an order!"

And so, Eiri went off, leaving Tatsuha by himself. Tatsuha didn't know why Eiri wanted him to stay there. After all, if he didn't leave soon, Judy and Hiro would kill him for being late. It wasn't long until Eiri came back with something in his cloak. Tatsuha didn't know what Eiri was thinking. Eiri pulled it out. He was holding something black and hairy and some kind of case.

"What is that?" Tatsuha asked.

"When I'm standing here as myself, I am Prince Eiri of the Kage Kingdom. But, when I put this on..." He turned around and started putting the stuff on. When he faced Tatsuha again, Tatsuha couldn't believe what he was seeing. Eiri was wearing a wig and colored contacts.

"You look like an exact replica of me!"

"Exactly. I want to live your life as a pauper for a while. In return, you can live my life as a prince. You look like you'd want to."

"But why?"

"What, can't a prince be generous to switch lives with an idiot who clearly doesn't need it?"

"I know it's more than that. Why would a prince want to live the life of a pauper?"

"Maybe I'm tired of my life as a prince. Have you ever thought about that?"

"No! I mean, how can anyone _not_ want to live the life of a prince?You've must have another reason why you want to switch lives."

"Alright! Alright! I'll admit there's another reason why I want to switch lives with you. Two days ago, I met this girl who came to the castle. And she obviously came from here."

"Oh, a girl! Was she cute?"

"No, she was not cute. She was beautiful; the most beautiful girl I've ever seen before in my life. It's hard to believe that she's a peasant girl. She looks like a princess."

"Well, I can help you find her. After all, I am the most knowledgeable here when it comes to the women living in the streets of the Kage Kingdom. Do you know her name?"

"No. I was about to, but then she had to leave."

"She sounds like some kind of Cinderella except she was in rags when you first met her, right?"

"Yes. That's right."

"Ok then. Describe her then."

"Well, she wears an ocean blue dress with colorful patches sewn on and a light blue hood and cape."

"Well, that limits it down to every girl in the Kage Kingdom. Please be specific, Your Highness."

"I'd prefer to be called Eiri. Anyways, about her, she has the most beautiful singing voice I've ever heard. She's kind and hardworking and she's not afraid to say her mind. Everything about her seems so wonderful. But what really makes her stand out is her violet eyes that sparkle like a night sky and her short soft pink hair."

Tatsuha squeaked at the realization. He was talking about Shuichi. "You're in love with Shuichi?" he asked.

"Shuichi? Is that her name?" Eiri asked "It's a wierd name for a girl, but I'm not complaining."

"Well, you see Eiri, Shuichi is..." Tatsuha was going to tell the truth that Shuichi was a guy who thinks he's a girl until he realized something. This was his chance to live as a prince. If he tells Eiri that Shuichi is male, he'll change his mind and go back to the castle. That meant Tatsuha would continue his life as a pauper. He only had one choice; he had to lie about Shuichi's gender to the prince.

"She is what Tatsuha?" asked Eiri.

"I was about to say that Shuichi is... not very fond of me." said Tatsuha. At least he was telling the truth about his relationship with Shuichi.

"She's not?"

"No. Then again, I've done things to annoy _her_ here and there so it's understandable why _she_ doesn't like me very well."

"Well, that won't be a problem with me. I can use my good charms to win her over."

"Good luck with that."

After Eiri paid for Tatsuha's wig and contacts because Tatsuha was too poor, they then switched clothes. It felt wierd to wear the other's clothes, but eventually they got used to it. They were both excited to live the other's live. Tatsuha was excited to be as lazy as he wants to be and Eiri was excited to see Shuichi again and be able to speak with him again even though he doesn't know Shuichi is actually a guy. However, Tatsuha couldn't help but to worry.

"Eiri, what if trouble happens as we're living each other's lives?" he asked.

"I had a feeling you'd ask." said Eiri "You saw that mark on my left arm, did you?"

"You mean the one that looks like a purple pentagram?"

"Yes. The pentagram is a symbol of royalty. Every king, queen, prince, or princess has this symbol on their arm. It is placed on them at birth by the high priests of whatever kingdom. Also, you can tell which kingdom they're from by the color pentagram. The purple pentagram is the symbol for the Kage Kingdom. Therefore, no matter what happens, if I get in trouble, I show them the mark and I'll be fine."

"Two questions. One, wouldn't other people try to put the mark on them?"

"They can try, but the mark can only be put on royals. If a commoner tries to put the mark on, they will die."

"Ok. And two, what if they find out that I'm not you if they don't find the pentagram on my arm?"

"Then tell them to call for me on the streets and if I don't come within 10 days, they can kill you."

"That's supposed to make me better."

"Don't worry. If that happens, I'll come. I won't leave you hanging. You better get going now. Everyone might be looking for me."

"You better do the same. You don't want to keep your precious Shuichi waiting. By the way, do you know where the orphanage is?"

"I could see it from my room in the castle. I know where it is."

"Well, I'll see you later Eiri."

"Good luck in the castle Tatsuha."

And with that said, both the prince and the pauper went their separate ways to see what their new temporary lives would be like.

**Pinkshuchan: Well, it's good to see that they've met. Tatsuha was being a little sly there. But if he didn't do what he did, they wouldn't make the switch, would they? Read and Review!**


	5. A Chilly Night

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hi this is Pinkshuchan! In the last chapter, Eiri and Tatsuha had finally switched lives, but is it really as great as they think it would be? Well anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

A Chilly Night

Eiri walked down the streets of the Kage Kingdom in search of the orphanage after discussing things he and Tatsuha had to know about each other's lives. The snow was cold under his feet and the winter air blew through the raven wig he was wearing. Luckily, because he was clever enough to think about bobbypins, the wig didn't fall off from the wind. After walking for a while, by the time it was nighttime, he finally found himself at the orphanage. This was where Shuichi, the 'maiden' he had fallen for, lived at with Tatsuha. How lucky was he to have found his look-alike and he just happened to be a pauper who lived in the same place as Shuichi. He remembered Tatsuha say that he and Shuichi didn't get along very well, but Eiri was determined to make it so Shuichi _does_ like Tatsuha. After all, he didn't want to be hated by him while he was pretending to be Tatsuha.

Just as he was about to walk to the door, it opened; revealing Shuichi. Eiri's heart thumped harder than it had ever as he saw Shuichi standing there right in front of him. He didn't know what to do. After all, he wasn't Tatsuha so how should he act?

"Tatsuha you lazy perverted moron!" Shuichi yelled "You were supposed to be working today."

Eiri didn't understand what Shuichi was saying. What did he mean that Tatsuha was supposed to be working? "What do you mean Shuichi?" he asked.

"Don't act like you don't know, you idiot. You were supposed to help Hiro clear snow off the pathways. And you were told to actually work this time."

The next thing Eiri knew, he was being dragged inside. He didn't even know what Shuichi was talking about. Tatsuha didn't tell him anything about any work he needed to do. Why didn't he tell him? Then again, no one would really say they were in trouble. The thought got Eiri back into his foul mood again. The moment he sees Tatsuha again, he will have him executed. The next thing he knew after that, he was standing at the door with Shuichi beside him. They were facing a man with long red hair and grey eyes. He was glaring at Eiri like he was really angry at him.

"Tatsuha! Where the hell have you been?" he asked "You left me having to clear fifty feet of snow all by myself."

Obviously he was angry at Tatsuha but didn't know that the person in front of him was actually Prince Eiri. Eiri knew that he had fooled them into thinking that he was Tatsuha. However, he didn't want to be hated his first day living as a pauper. He had to think of something.

"Hiro." said Eiri "I know that I was supposed to help you with work and I'm sorry I ran off when I did. However, I had some kind of feeling come over me that was telling me that our Shuichi was in danger. And so because of this feeling, I knew I had to save her."

"Yeah, save _her_ from you."

"Not I. There were three pickpockets that tried to take Shuichi's money. After all, we need that money for the orphanage and Shuichi is one of our most beloved here in the orphanage. Just think. If I didn't fight them, who knows what would've happened."

"Tatsuha." said Shuichi, not believing what he was hearing "Did you really go fight them because of what you just said?"

"What, I shouldn't?"

"It's not that, but... it doesn't sound like you."

"Maybe I decided to change." Suddenly, Eiri felt pain going through his head. Shuichi and Hiro began to realize what they thought was going on.

"Well, I think I see why he's acting this way." said Hiro "He hit his head somewhere."

"I don't see a bump anywhere though." said Shuichi.

"It doesn't always need to come by by just a bump. Just by hitting his head it caused his brain to think differently from what he usually thinks."

"I'm fine!" said Eiri, feeling a little grouchy "I just hit my head during the battle. It's nothing serious. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to my room." He walked out of the room for a few seconds then came back. "Um... where's my room again?"

Shuichi walked over to him and lead him to where Tatsuha's room was. When they got there, Eiri went over to the bed and sat down. It wasn't as comfortable as his bed at the castle but he could get used to it. Shuichi stood at the door.

"Tatsuha?" he asked "Are you sure you're not acting this way because of your head? Maybe even given you short term memory loss?"

"I'm positive Shuichi." said Eiri "I've just been thinking a lot. It must've affected my memory. I'm sure it'll be back to normal after a while."

"Tatsuha? I have a question."

"What is it?"

Shuichi blushed as he stood there; fiddling with his skirt. "You know that hooded man that came to save me from those jerks, right? Did you ever get a chance to see his face?"

Eiri knew that Shuichi was talking about him. He didn't know what he should say. What would happen if he told the truth that it was him; Prince Eiri, who came to save the beautiful maiden? He didn't want to find out if case it was something bad.

"I... don't know. He ran off before I could see his face."

"Oh." Eiri looked at Shuichi's face. He seemed to be disappointed. "It's just because he felt very familiar. I just wanted to know if he was who I thought he was. Well then, I'll let you go to bed. You need your rest after what happened. Good night. And Tatsuha? Thanks for today. I'll tell Hiro that you're telling the truth."

"Thanks Shuichi. Good night."

Shuichi closed the door behind him; leaving Eiri alone in _his _room. He took a look around. The room was not too big but not too small with only a bed and drawers. Luckily the room had a window. He looked out the window to see that the room only had one wall attached to the orphanage and the other three were bare. Eiri yawned as he realized that he was tired. He decided he should go to bed. He looked in the drawers for any pyjamas he could wear. However, the only clothes he found were some old socks, a couple pairs of ripped pants and some shirts with holes on them. He decided that he should just keep the clothes he was wearing on so without nothing else to do, he went to bed.

It wasn't for long though. A few minutes after trying to go to sleep, Eiri woke up feeling a draft through the blanket. He looked over to notice that the window was open. He got up and closed it then went to bed. A few minutes after that, he felt it again. He looked over at the window again and noticed that it was open again. Didn't he close it? He walked back to the window and closed it again, but he didn't trust it. He stood there and watched to see what the cause was. However, he couldn't stay awake and ended up falling asleep.

After a while, he felt the chill again. He woke up and looked over to see the window had opened _again_. He closed it once more and walked back to the bed. Pretending he was asleep, he watched carefully at the window until he saw it open by a cold wind. He realized that was how the window kept opening. He walked back to the window and closed it one more time to see that there was a lock. He brought the lock down and checked the window if it was secure or not. When he saw that it was, he went back to bed in hopes that nothing else could go wrong.

However, nothing changed. A few minutes later, Eiri felt another draft. He looked over at the window hoping it wasn't that. Luckily, it wasn't. He thought maybe it was part of his imagination, but he could feel it. He followed the direction of the chill to find what looked like a mouse hole through the wall near the ground. He knew that things were starting to get a little silly and so he grabbed the socks and plugged the hole with just that. Hopefully, he would be able to get some sleep.

But he didn't.

The cold wind was so strong, it pushed the socks away from the hole and the draft reached Eiri again. He knew that it was starting to get ridiculous. He plugged the hole with the socks again, but this time, he put all the other clothes in too. No wind was going to beat him. He was making sure of it. However, the wind was still winning, for the cold wind caused some of the wall to break and make a bigger hole. Eiri knew he never had this problem when he lived in the castle. Did Tatsuha make all these attempts too or did he just sleep with the cold? Nonetheless, Eiri was going to get some sleep no matter what. He grabbed the whole drawer and tried moving it over to the hole without making a sound. He succeeded. He walked to bed satisfied that he managed to stop the drafts. Little did he know that at the place where the drawer used to be, there was another hole that was behind it that led outside. The draft blew on him again and that was when he knew. They was no way he was going to get some sleep.

Meanwhile, Tatsuha managed to get to castle in one peace. It was far more greater than he thought it would be. He couldn't believe that he was going to be staying there for a while. No rules, no work, and no one to boss him around. After all, in their eyes, he had become the prince and nothing was going to ruin it. As soon as he walked inside, servants surrounded him. A man with black hair and glasses came over to him.

"There you are, Your Highness." he said "I can't believe you snuck off like that. It's a good thing your father didn't know or he would've have me executed. It is time for you to go inside and get to bed."

"But I wanted to take a walk around the castle." said Tatsuha.

"Nonsense. It is time for bed. We can't have you mess up your schedule and get your father upset. He's already dealing with so much what with the war and everything. He can't have his son go off exploring and getting himself into trouble. Now let's get you to bed."

Tatsuha would've complained, but he knew it would be a waste. Besides, he would be able to sleep in a warm bed instead of the bed he always slept in. It was a good thing too. His room at the orphanage was cold due to the mouse holes. He kept asking Hiro to fix it for him but he wouldn't. He told Tatsuha that 'he would have to do it himself if he really wanted anything done'. And so, his room was cold every night. But now, he got to sleep in the prince's bed.

The bedroom was marvelous. It was big and very roomy. There were drawers filled with many magnificient cloths and a balcony with a perfect view of the kingdom. A king sized bed with red satin blankets and a golden canapy stood in the middle of the room. Tatsuha couldn't believe that this was really the room he was going to sleep in. Suddenly, the servants pulled him into the room and began to undress him. They pulled out some clean purple pyjamas and helped him dress into it.

"Your Highness." said the man with glasses "Remember that tomorrow you are to wake up at 6 o'clock sharp for breakfast and then you must be ready for your math lessons at 7."

Tatsuha was already fast asleep in the giant bed. The man decided that it was best to let _His Highness_ sleep well so he turned off the lights and closed the door behind him. In his dreams, Tatsuha knew that this was going to be the best life he could ever ask for.

If you all thought I was ending the chapter like this, think again. Why don't we take a good look at the Hikari Kingdom's side of things. At the Hikari Kingdom, the king was thinking over the plans for the war in his study. However, he was beginning to overlook things. He began to wonder if fighting this war was really worth it. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and someone came in; someone no one would've expected.

"How are you doing today, Your Majesty."

The king looked over at the unannounced guest. "Kitazawa? I thought you were going to stay at the Kage Kingdom to keep watch."

Kitazawa just gave a concerned look. "I was, but I became curious as to why you haven't made an attack yet."

"I was thinking over some things. I don't understand why this battle should go on any longer. We've been at it for sixteen years and my men are getting tired. Maybe I should try to end this war and make peace with my friend again."

"Have you forgotten, Your Majesty?" Kitazawa walked over to him and leaned into the king's ear "That _friend_ of yours killed your only heir. In fact, I saw him do it. I begged for him to stop but he wouldn't listen. He said that the princess would never be good enough for his son."

The king stood up in rage. "My child is perfect for that bastard of a king's son. Sure, my child may be different from all the other princesses but that doesn't change a thing. Maybe my child isn't exactly like a princess on the outside but would definitely be in the inside. Of course if..."

"You don't really think the princess is still alive out there, do you? Believe me, I saw it with my own eyes. The princess is dead and will never come back to you." The king sat back down as tears began to form in his eyes. "I'm really sorry to tell you this Your Majesty, but I had to remind you of the awful truth no matter how painful it sounds. It's not a good thing to believe something that may never come true."

"No, you're right Kitazawa. I need to accept it. My child is dead... ... ... Kitazawa, I need you to go back to the Kage Kingdom and keep watch over that good for nothing king's every move. Now go!"

Kitazawa bowed before leaving. As he left, a smirk ran across his face. "Everything is going according to plan." he said "It won't be long before both the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom fall to my feet."

**Pinkshuchan: Well, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter and I hope it made you laugh. Read and Review everyone!**


	6. Eiri and Tatsuha's Official First Day

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hi everyone! This is Pinkshuchan! I only have one thing to say about this chapter. I'm sorry if the characters are OOC. It's meant to be that way just to make things funnier. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 5

Eiri and Tatsuha's Official First Day

The morning sun began to rise in the Kage Kingdom as 6 o'clock came around. Tatsuha was still asleep in bed until Sakano came to wake him up.

"Your Highness. It is time for you to wake up." he said. Tatsuha just groaned and rolled over. Sakano walked over to one of the drawers and pulled out a trumpet. He then walked back to Tatsuha and began playing the trumpet in his ear. Tatsuha in response fell out of bed from the sudden noise. "I'm sorry I had to do this Your Highness, but you left me no other choice. We really need to get you ready and give you your breakfast. You have your math lessons at 7 like I told you last night, and then your history lessons at 10. You eat lunch at 12:25 and then you are expected to practice your archery and sword fighting at 1. You then have your geography lessons at 3, your science lessons at 5:30 and then your rune lessons..."

"Rune lessons?" asked Tatsuha.

"Of course Your Highness. Your lessons on the symbols you may find on the ancient runes of our ancient ancestors. Anyways, your rune lessons are at 7. Dinner is at 8 and then at 8:45 you have time to freely do what you want until 9."

"What? Can't I have more time than that?"

"And neglect your duties as the prince of the Kage Kingdom? Absolutely not! Your father ordered me specifcally to make sure you have more time on your lessons than anything else. But, if you really want some fun during these lessons, I can tell the jester to accompany you. Jester!" he clapped his hands. Suddenly, something colorful cartwheeled into the room, made a back flip and posed.

"Ryuichi and Kumagoro here to entertain you with our wonderful jokes, nanoda!" said the jester. He looked over at Tatsuha and his eyes widened. Tatsuha's did the same. Yes, they had witnessed a 'Love At First Sight' moment, except Ryuichi thought it was a 'Love At Second Sight' moment because he already met Eiri but he didn't know that the one in front of him was Tatsuha. Sakano walked over to Ryuichi.

"Jester? Have you got a better joke for His Highness today?" he asked.

"Well, Kumagoro and I have been thinking about it a lot." said Ryuichi "We think we may have something the prince might like, nanoda." He lift up Kumagoro. "Right Kumagoro?" The pink bunny nodded in response. "Ok. Here it goes! It's almost Christmas and a man and his wife look up at the sky. The wife asks 'What do you think the weather will be today dear?' And the man says 'Snow or rain dear.'"

Ryuichi closed his eyes and prepared for the worst. He knew his jokes weren't funny to others. He hoped maybe this one would be better. Then suddenly, he heard something he didn't expect.

Tatsuha began to laugh.

"Omigod!" he laughed "Hehe! I completely get it! 'Rain dear' sounds like reindeer! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"You find that joke funny, Your Highness?" asked Sakano.

"I don't find it funny. I find it hilarious!" He looked over at Ryuichi. "What other jokes do you have?"

"Your Highness, we don't have time for this. You must have breakfast before your lessons." Sakano began to push Tatsuha out the room with Ryuichi following. The day went by as Sakano said it would. Lesson after lesson after lesson. How did Eiri ever put up with it? Throughout the whole day, Tatsuha kept screwing up. He kept getting the answers wrong. Everyone kept asking if he wasn't feeling well. From their reaction at his intelligence, he could guess that Eiri is actually very smart. But Tatsuha could already tell considering the whole idea of wearing wigs and contacts and pretending to be each other was Eiri's. Tatsuha told everyone that he just had a bump on the head and it must've affected his memory.

When lunch came around, Tatsuha sat by himself at the large table. Sakano explained that _his_ father was too busy with war plans to eat with him so here he was eating alone. At least until Ryuichi walked in. Something was different with him though. His eyes weren't as bubbly and bright. They seemed to be more dark and sharp now.

"Hey! How are you?" Tatsuha asked. Ryuichi kept silent. Tatsuha got out of his chair and walked over to him. "Are you ok? Ryuichi?"

Suddenly, Ryuichi pushed Tatsuha to the wall and trapped him with his body. Tatsuha didn't know what was going on. Something didn't seem right.

"You!" said Ryuichi in a dark cold voice "You are not the prince!"

"H... how'd you know that?" asked Tatsuha.

Ryuichi went back into his bubbly form. "Woah! You really aren't? I was only playing a joke, nanoda. Though I think if you really were the prince, I would get my ass thrown out of here. It was Kumagoro's idea." The rabbit appeared and looked like it was glaring at him. "What? It's true and you know it Kumagoro. Now that I think about it, I _did_ find it strange that _His Highness_ would laugh at my joke and actually find it funny. That's a first, nanoda! No one's ever laughed at my jokes before. I like it!"

Tatsuha knew then that he was in trouble. If Ryuichi tells anyone in the castle, he would be killed. He needed to make sure Ryuichi doesn't tell anyone. "Ryuichi, please don't say a word about this to anyone."

"But I..."

"Please! I really need you to do this for me!"

"But you see...

"I'll do anything you ask as long as you don't tell."

"Well, I... Anything, nanoda?"

"Yes! Anything! Please Ryuichi?"

Ryuichi began to think. "Kumagoro, what do you think?" Kumagoro lift up his paw and began to whisper in Ryuichi's ear. "No. I don't think he should do that. Wait! I know!" He looked over at Tatsuha. "I have one thing I'd want from you, nanoda."

"And what's that?"

The next thing he knew, Ryuichi was... kissing him? It felt so good. Tatsuha couldn't help but kiss back. They kissed for ten minutes before finally breaking apart. They were both out of breath.

"Was that... all you wanted?" asked Tatsuha.

"Can I... know your name too, nanoda?" asked Ryuichi.

"It's Tatsuha."

"Tatsuha... I hope you and I can be the best of buddies."

"You... ask for that after... kissing me? Just being friends?"

"Yes. For us to be very _very_ best best buddies. For us to be very close with one another and do things together. To always do the stuff we did just now. Those type of buddies, nanoda!"

"You mean like... lovers?"

"Is that what you call it? Then yes."

Tatsuha blushed. This was the first time someone had interest in him. "Ok. But remember, you can't tell anyone I'm not the prince. You have to address me as Prince Eiri in front of others."

"Of course, nanoda! I wasn't going to tell in the first place."

"So I didn't need to do anything for you?"

Ryuichi looked like he was about to cry. "Why? Did you not like the kiss?"

"It... it wasn't that I didn't like it. I really do like it. I..."

"Really? I'm so happy, nanoda!" He then hugged Tatsuha as tight as he could. Suddenly, they heard the door open. Sakano came in to see Tatsuha eating his lunch and Ryuichi playing with Kumagoro.

"Your Highness, you must get ready for your next lessons." he said.

Tatsuha stood up. "Will you accompany me, Ryuichi?" he asked.

"Of course Tatsu... I mean 'Your Highness'." said Ryuichi. He almost gave away Tatsuha's cover. For the rest of the day, Tatsuha kept going on with the lessons. It really tired him out. When Tatsuha finally got the time to himself, he still had to work. He was expected to be in the library and read until his head would burst. Luckily, Ryuichi accompanied him to the library and they looked at the different books together. Tatsuha was bored out of his mind until he realized he was looking at a book about pentagrams. It began to interest him.

"There are so many pentagrams." said Tatsuha "I wonder if it has the kingdom pentagrams in this book." He searched through the book until he finally found it. It read:

**The Kingdom Pentagrams**

**The kingdom pentagrams represent the five different kingdoms in our land. At birth, the heir of a certain kingdom is given the pentagram of that kingdom. The different pentagrams are listed at the bottom.**

**Kage Kingdom- Purple**

**Hikari Kingdom- Yellow**

**Homura Kingdom- Red**

**Kaze Kingdom- Blue**

**Hana Kingdom- Green**

So these were the different pentagrams Eiri talked about. Tatsuha found the whole thing interesting yet somehow he felt like he may have seen a yellow pentagram before. He didn't remember where though. He began to wonder where he saw it as he tried to go to bed.

Let's go back in time to the morning but take a look at the orphanage. That morning in the orphanage, Judy woke up to something very unusual. Hiro walked over to her.

"Good Morning Miss Judy." said Hiro.

"Hiroshi, do you hear something?" she asked.

Hiro listened for a bit. "I don't hear anything."

"Exactly! Shuichi and Tatsuha have not done their usual morning quarrel."

"I think it may have something to do with what happened yesterday. Tatsuha said he fought these guys that tried to attack Shuichi. And then we found out he hit his head."

"And he didn't make it up to escape any punishment?"

"Shuichi confirmed it was true."

"I see. I'm going to go check on Tatsuha. Would you be so kind as to cook breakfast Hiroshi?"

"Yes Miss Judy."

And so, Judy went to Tatsuha's bedroom. She knocked the door first, then opened it when she didn't get a response. When she opened the door, she saw _Tatsuha_ sleeping in bed with the blankets all over him. She looked all over the room to see that it wasn't the same as it was last. Furniture was moved around everywhere and seemed to be covering the walls. She could tell that he was trying to cover the mouse holes. She remembered hearing Tatsuha complain about them and how the room was cold because of them, but Hiro told him that he would have to board the holes up himself if he wanted them gone. Well, it was the best way to get Tatsuha to actually start working.

A few hours later after everyone was up and had eaten breakfast, they all did their thing. It was quiet at the orphanage until they heard banging followed by a yelp. Curious, Shuichi followed the sounds to Tatsuha's room where he saw Eiri as Tatsuha holding his hand which was covered in blood.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Shuichi.

Eiri looked up at him. "What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked "I'm trying to board up these mouse holes. No way am I sleeping like this."

"And the bleeding hand?"

"I accidentally slammed the nail onto my hand with the hammer. It's now stuck."

"Well, considering your lack of experience, I can see why you'd get a nail stuck in your hand. Here. We better get it pulled out. I don't want you complaining about how much it hurts." He took Eiri's other hand and took him to where they keep the first-aid kit. As Shuichi searched through the shelves for the bandages, Eiri noticed something furry walk towards me. It looked like a cat. Eiri watched as it walked over to him and sniffed him.

"Mr. Meow! You're not supposed to be out here!" said Shuichi. He knew what would happen. Mr. Meow never liked Tatsuha. Every time the cat would see him, he would hiss for a warning and then attack him. Shuichi was afraid of that happening again. But then he saw something he never thought would ever happen.

Mr. Meow was snuggling close to _Tatsuha_. And _Tatsuha_ was petting him back. Obviously with his not bleeding hand.

"He... likes you?" said Shuichi.

"I guess he does." said Eiri.

"But he never likes you."

"Really? Maybe he had a change of heart."

Shuichi nodded before he picked the cat up. "I'll go put him away." He left the room to put Mr. Meow back to his room before heading back to Eiri and getting the nail out of his hand. That didn't mean he was going to make it pleasurable.

"What the hell is all that for?" asked Eiri "Is there a good reason why you're really harsh when it comes to me?"

"I think it should be obvious." said Shuichi "You don't like me, I don't like you. It's as simple as that."

"What? I like you, Shuichi."

Shuichi's eyes widened with surprise as he looked over at Eiri. Eiri blushed at what he just said and tried to cover it up. "I mean... you're a really hard worker... and you're determined to get the money to help the orphanage. I can't help but respect that. Admire even!"

"Is that the reason why you keep groping my ass and lifting up my skirt?"

At hearing that, Eiri's face grew red with anger. He knew that as soon as he goes back to the castle, he was going to give Tatsuha a piece of his mind. "Well, I didn't know any better." he said with his teeth clenched. Shuichi didn't get what was wrong with him.

"Tatsuha? Are you ok?"

Eiri looked over at Shuichi. "Yeah. Sorry, I lost control of myself. Anyways, I can't promise this, but I will try my absolute best not to sexually harrass you. I'm not sure if I'll be the same way I am after my head clears up from the headache."

"That's right! You hit your head from the fight. I'm sorry you had to fight those jerks."

"It's not your fault Shuichi. I wanted to fight them."

"Yes, but you wouldn't need to fight them if I made such a big deal about it."

"Those bastards needed what was given to them. It wasn't if you made a big deal about it or not."

"But..."

"I'M AT FAULT HERE AND THAT'S THAT!"

Shuichi gasped at the sudden outburst. Somehow it sounded familiar. He wasn't sure where he heard it before. "I'll just bandage your hand." he said after the long silence. And so, Shuichi bandaged Eiri's hand. They remained silent the whole time. Finally Shuichi finished bandaging Eiri's hand.

"It's done." said Shuichi "You can go back to boarding up those mouse holes now."

"Yeah." said Eiri "If I don't get those holes covered up before I go to sleep, I'll never be _able_ to sleep. Thanks for bandaging my hand Shuichi. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well... you know... Without you around I may have been stuck walking around with a nail in my hand. Really, that would be painful. But then again, pain is an essential part of life for without it, we couldn't fully live. And I'm not just talking about the physical kind of pain. I'm also talking about the emotional type of pain and that hurts more than physicl pain. You see..."

Before he could continue, Shuichi covered his mouth. "Tatsuha, I get it." he giggled.

Eiri moved Shuichi's hands off his mouth. "You're smiling."

Shuichi blushed. "Yeah. I guess I am."

"I really like it when you're smiling. It's like sunshine on a cloudy day."

"You're being really wierd Tatsuha... but..." Shuichi became silent.

"But what?" asked Eiri.

"But... it's a good kind of unusual."

They both began to stare at each other for a long time. Silence flooded the room without Eiri or Shuichi doing anything else. Finally, Eiri spoke up.

"Shuichi?"

"Yeah?"

"You know... maybe later... maybe... you and I could..."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you know... go around town and just stroll around. You know... just the two of us."

"Tatsuha I..."

"Yeah?"

"Well... this is so sudden. I mean...

"Yeah?"

"Well... you and I have only just begun getting along with each other and I think that... well, you know... maybe if we did go around town... we could just go... as friends. That is until we get along better." With every word they said, they just got closer and closer and closer to each other until...

"Shuichi! Tatsuha!" They heard Judy call "Time to eat."

When they realized what they were close to doing, they moved apart from each other and went downstairs. They pretended to act like nothing ever happened. But of course, something did. After eating, Eiri finally boarded up the mouse holes. He knew that he was going to get a good night's sleep this time. Well, guess again! Just as he was trying to go to sleep, one by one, the orphans started began to cry. Eiri could hear them right from his own bedroom. He was not going to be able to sleep with fifty orphan children crying. Nope, it was going to be a long night.

**Pinkshuchan: Well, that was the next chapter. Will Ryuichi keep Tatsuha's identity a secret? Will Eiri be with Shuichi? Will Shuichi recognize his prince under the rags? Will the war between the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom rage on? Read and Review!**


	7. Love Breaks The Ice

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hey everyone! Pinkshuchan here! I'm finally back even though I wasn't off for long. Everything got boring after a while so I decided to go back to writing my stories, but I may have long pauses between stories and chapters for my personal life. Anyways, I finally have the next chapter. It may be a little longer than the other chapters, but it could be just me. Let's see if the romances between Tatsuha and Ryuichi and Eiri and Shuichi improve. Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 6

Love Breaks the Ice

A few days had passed since the very first day and both Tatsuha and Eiri began to have trouble. All of the lessons were driving Tatsuha insane and though he managed to get the work done, Eiri became too sore and tired to move afterwards. But things weren't completely bad. Tatsuha was happy to have Ryuichi with him and keep him entertained and Eiri was able to see Shuichi everyday. It was the only good thing about living each other's lives. And it was the only true reason why they chose to stay.

One day, as soon as the lessons were done, Tatsuha went straight back to the bedroom and fell onto the bed. He didn't know how Eiri was able to survive all those lessons. He felt like he was gonna die with all that knowledge. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" asked Tatsuha.

"It's us, nanoda!" he heard Ryuichi. Tatsuha got up, walked to the door, and opened it to be greeted with Ryuichi wrapping his arms around him. Tatsuha closed the door with Ryuichi hanging off him and they went to the bed. "Are you ok, nanoda?" Ryuichi asked as soon as they sat on the bed "You looked like you were sick when you were taking those confusing lessons."

"I'm ok Ryuichi." said Tatsuha "I'm just tired from all these lessons. I had an easier life as a pauper than as a prince."

"Then why stay? Why not just go back to the place you came from?"

"I'm not sure if the prince would want to switch back just yet. He must be having too much fun as a pauper. Besides, if I leave now, I won't get to be with you."

Ryuichi's eyes began to sparkle. "Really? You really like to be with me?"

"Of course."

He lifted up Kumagoro. "And Kumagoro too?"

Tatsuha chuckled. "And Kumagoro too." He leaned in and kissed Ryuichi's nose, then to make Ryuichi happy, he leaned in and kissed Kumagoro's nose as well. Ryuichi brought himself closer to Tatsuha.

"Tatsuha? Just curious. Have people always mistakened you as the prince from where you live?"

"No, but the only reason why I look exactly like the prince now is because of this wig and these contacts. Without them, I just look like a raven haired dark eyed version of the prince."

"Can I see?"

Tatsuha walked over to the door and made sure it was locked. He did want to show his true self to Ryuichi but he couldn't have anyone figure out he's not Prince Eiri. After he made sure the door was locked, he walked back to the bed and took off his wig and contacts. Ryuichi moved closer to him and cupped his cheek with his hand. Tatsuha could see that Ryuichi had those sharp looking eyes again but he didn't care. They both leaned to each other and began kissing. The feelings they were feeling overpowered them and took control of them. After they finished kissing, their cravings for each other was still not satisfied.

"Tatsuha?" said Ryuichi, panting heavily "I want to become yours."

"Same." said Tatsuha, panting as heavily. He leaned in to kiss Ryuichi but before he could, Ryuichi pushed him back. "What is it?"

"We can't do it right now." He pointed to his lap. "Kumagoro is here."

"Well, is there anything Kumagoro wants to do alone?"

"Well, it is time for his bedtime, nanoda." He stood up, put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a shoebox. Tatsuha couldn't believe his eyes, but Ryuichi didn't even notice. He just put Kumagoro into the box and wished him Goodnight. When all was said and done, he looked back to Tatsuha. "What's wrong Tatsuha?"

"How are you able to fit a box that size in your pocket?" he asked as soon as he was able to regain his voice.

Ryuichi just placed his index finger on his lips. "It's secret."

Tatsuha pulled Ryuichi close to him. "You're just full of surprises. It makes me want you more." The next thing they knew, they were both lying on the bed with Tatsuha on top; striping off their clothes and kissing each other with so much intensity. I'm sure you all have an idea about what happened so we'll just skip to after that. After their little love making, they were both lying beside each other, holding each other in their arms. Ryuichi tightened his grip on Tatsuha.

"I love you Tatsuha." he whispered "It doesn't matter to me if you're royalty or not."

Tatsuha was at ease with what was said, but then something clicked in his head. He sat up. "Shuichi!"

Ryuichi sat up at well; anger in his eyes. "Who's Shuichi?"

"No one important. Well, not important to me anyways. We live together but that's because we were both raised in the same orphanage. We're acquaintances."

"So then why did you spit out that person's name like that?"

"Do you remember when I decided I wanted to read that book about the kingdom pentagrams? When I saw the yellow pentagram; the Hikari Kingdom's pentagram, I was trying to remember where I had seen it before. And now I just realized. I had seen it before on Shuichi's left arm; the same spot I had seen the purple pentagram on His Highness' arm."

Ryuichi began to think. "This reminds me of something the king of the Homura Kingdom told me before I came here to the Kage Kingdom. I asked why the Hikari Kingdom and the Kage Kingdom were fighting and he told me it was becasue the king of the Hikari Kingdom accused the king of the Kage Kingdom of murdering his only heir, the princess of the Hikari Kingdom. Could it be this person you mentioned is the missing princess?"

As Tatsuha and Ryuichi continued talking, they were unaware that Kitazawa was listening at the door. He came to give _Eiri_ the homework he forgot to give him only to overhear Tatsuha and Ryuichi. He had heard enough to know that the princess of the Hikari Kingdom was still alive. As soon as he heard this, he rushed down to his secret lair hidden in the catacombs of the castle.

Meanwhile in that secret lair, Kitazawa's secret accomplices were there bored out of their minds. Three good-for-nothing men who have nothing better to do than serve Kitazawa to the point of murder just for money and a place to stay. Oh yeah! Did I forget to mention they were the same three men that tried to steal from Shuichi?

"Man, I'm so bored." said one of them.

"Yeah no duh!" said the other "Good stating the obvious, dumbass!"

"Hey! I was only just saying. Am I not supposed to say what's on my mind?"

"Not if you want to look like a big wuss."

They were about to attack each other until the leader ran in front of them and pulled them apart. "Shut the hell up you two!" he yelled but not loud enough to be heard by above "We were told by Master Kitazawa that we're not allowed to leave until he gave us a job to do so we don't repeat what happened last time."

"But wasn't it your idea to try stealing money from that girl?" asked the first one.

The leader hit him on the head. "Shut up! We needed the money anyway. And we'll definitely get it working for Master Kitazawa. Therefore, we are going to stay here until we're given orders to leave. Is that clear?"

"Yes Taki."

The leader, Taki, nodded of satisfaction. The three continued to do nothing until Kitazawa came in. The three bowed as soon as they saw him. "Welcome back, Master Kitazawa." they said simultaneously.

But Kitazawa didn't look happy to see them. In fact, he looked furious. "Do you remember the order I gave you sixteen years ago? The reason why we are close to obtaining both the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom?"

Taki was the first to speak. "Of course. You ordered us to kidnap and kill the princess of the Hikari Kingdom while she was still a baby. Why?"

Kitazawa walked over to Taki and grabbed him by the throat. "Because I just found out that she is still alive! How is this possible?"

"I... I don't know!" Taki tried to speak "I don't know... how she's still alive." Kitazawa then dropped him. Taki tried to catch his breath before continuing. "I'm just as surprised as you are, Master. She should be dead."

"Did you see her die yourself?"

"Well, actually no. I told Ken and Maa-kun here to take care of it. I was busy with other matters you asked us to do."

Kitazawa glared at the other two. "Well? Do you care to explain?"

"Well, we _did_ kidnap the princess." said Maa-kun.

"And we were about to kill her in the outskirts of the kingdom." said Ken "There was just one little problem."

"And what was that?"

"We heard someone coming and we were afraid of getting caught so we ran off. After running a little way did we realize that we forgot to take the princess with us. But then we thought that it wouldn't make a big deal if she was dead or alive and you could still carry on with your plan."

Kitazawa was now fuming. "OF COURSE IT'S A BIG DEAL YOU IDIOTS! BECAUSE THE PRINCESS IS STILL ALIVE, THERE IS A CHANCE OF SOMEONE FINDING HER AND BRINGING HER BACK TO THE CASTLE TO END THE WAR! IF THE WAR ENDS AND THE PRINCESS AND THE PRINCE GET MARRIED, I'LL NEVER BECOME KING!" After his little spat, he began huffing. After calming himself down, he gave them a sack of weapons and supplies. "You three are going to search the entire kingdom. I don't care how long it takes for you to find her, find that wench and kill her before she comes to the castle, or better yet before anyone else finds her. And this time I want all _three_ of you there. Not one. Not two. All three of you. And this time, I don't want to see you arrested by the knights. I won't be able to bail you out again. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir!" said all three. And so, they rushed out of the secret lair and out of the castle. Kitazawa hoped that this time they wouldn't screw up.

Meanwhile at the orphanage, Eiri had returned from working that much. Everyone was asking if he was sick. But then again, they all thought he was Tatsuha. They all didn't know that he was really Prince Eiri. As he walked in, he noticed some of the orphanage girls were moving around. It looked like they were trying to dance. Feeling curious, he walked over to them. "Hey, what are you doing girls?"

The girls all looked up at him. "Mr. Tatsuha. We were just trying to dance like all the princes and princesses do, but we don't know how."

"Well of course you don't know how. You've never seen it." He looked around to see if there was anyone nearby before he leaned over to them. "Just between you and me, I've snuck into the castle many times and a few times I got to see some dancing."

The girls looked at him with joy in their eyes. "Really Mr. Tatsuha? You've seen how it's done?"

Eiri was lying of course. He never snuck into the castle, he lived in it. Also, not only had he seen some dancing, he had also done some as well. But the girls thought he was Tatsuha so he had to pretend. "Of course. In fact, I'll even show you how it's done. But in order to do so, I'll need music and a partner. It'll look silly if I do it by myself and without music."

The next thing he knew, the girls ran past him. He turned around to see that they were running over to Shuichi. He knew right away what they were thinking.

"Miss Shuichi. We need your help." said the girls "We want to learn how to dance like the princes and princesses and Mr. Tatsuha said he'll teach us but he needs a partner. Will you help?"

"I'd like to help girls." said Shuichi "But I need to finish this chore that Miss Judy asked me to do."

"Please Miss Shuichi. It won't take long."

The girls gave Shuichi puppy dog looks. Shuichi sighed. He knew it was impossible to say no to little girls giving puppy dog looks. "Alright. But only because you asked me to. I'll have one dance then I'm going back to work. You know how Miss Judy feels about slacking off." He looked over at Eiri "Do you even know how to dance?"

"I've seen a bit here and there." Eiri responded "What about you?"

"Yeah right. I wish I could though."

"Well maybe you can learn right here." He handed a hand to Shuichi and pulled him close to him. He moved Shuichi's arm so his hand was on Eiri's shoulder and took the other hand into his. He then wrapped his free arm around Shuichi's waist. Suddenly, they heard the girls humming a little tune. Eiri guessed it was so they danced with music. Eiri and Shuichi began dancing around as if they were really in a ballroom. They danced until they both became entranced with one another. They stared into each other's eyes; feeling like this whole moment together was right. It wasn't until the girls clapped that they broke out of the trance.

"That was wonderful." said one of the girls.

"Mr. Tatsuha and Miss Shuichi look like they really are prince and princess." said another girl.

Both Eiri and Shuichi blushed. "I... I need to finish up before Miss Judy gets angry." said Shuichi. He then ran out. Eiri just stood there before he decided to follow him to check if he was ok.

Meanwhile, the three accomplices were walking through the town. They search every woman of the kingdom and none of them were the princess. They continued walking until they saw a familiar face. It was the same girl they tried to steal from. They followed her and waited for the opportunity to grab her and check.

Shuichi walked through the snow covered streets of the kingdom; trying to clear his head on what happened. He and Tatsuha had a moment. It felt like as if they had fallen in love with each other. Shuichi just shook his head. There was no way he was going to believe he had fallen in love with Tatsuha. After all, it was Tatsuha. It was impossible. And yet in some way, it felt as if he was back at that time when he was with the prince. He didn't know why that was possible. Suddenly, he was grabbed by three men. He instantly recognized them as the men that tried to steal from him. Ken and Maa-kun held him down while Taki grabbed his left arm and rolled up the sleeve until he saw the yellow pentagram.

"We found her!" said Taki "Now!"

Maa-kun nodded and without hesitation, he hit Shuichi on the head as hard as he could and knocked him out. Taki picked him up, carried him to a horse and carriage that was left around and the three rode it out of the kingdom. Little did they realize that Eiri saw the whole thing. He ran to the stables, took a horse, and rode after them. He tried to be very slow though so they wouldn't realize he was following. They led him to Lake Mizu; one of the greatest lakes in the world. Why were they bringing Shuichi there? He had to know. After Taki and the others pulled the unconscious Shuichi out of the carriage, they led him to the lake and placed him on the snow. Ken slowly walked onto the currently frozen lake and with a hammer, he made a hole in the ice. He then walked back and helped Maa-kun pull out some rope and a ball with a chain.

"Ok guys! Tie her up!" Taki ordered. Ken locked the ball and chain around Shuichi's ankles and Maa-kun tied Shuichi's arms with the rope. Eiri realized what they were planning and he knew he had to stop them. Just as they were about to drag Shuichi near the hole and drown him, Eiri ran and attacked Maa-kun. But he was too late. Shuichi was already drowning in the hole. He was about to jump in and save him until Taki and Ken blacked his way. He fought them until he got through and then he jumped into the hole. Ken was about to follow until Taki stopped him.

"Let him go." said Taki "He's gone to his doom anyway. He can't save her unless he has the key to the ball and chain. Right now we got to take Maa-kun to a nurse." They walked to Maa-kun, helped him up, got in the carriage and rode away satisfied that they got rid of the princess.

However, they were unaware that Eiri _did_ take the key from them while they were fighting. He swam down to the bottom of the lake where Shuichi was, unlocked the ball and chain, untied the rope, and carried Shuichi back up to the surface. He pushed Shuichi up onto the ice before climbing out of the lake himself. They were greeted by a familiar figure.

"Tatsuha what happened?" he heard Hiro's voice "Miss Reiji came to the orphanage saying you stole one of her horses. Why'd you do that?"

"Shuichi." Eiri tried to speak without shivering "Those... those pickpockets from before... th... th... they tried to hurt Shuichi."

Without another word, Hiro helped Eiri up and together, they both carried Shuichi onto the horse Tatsuha took and they rode back to the orphanage. As soon as they got back, they brought Shuichi to the worn out couch close to the fireplace and covered him up with a warm blanket. Hiro then got Eiri a warm blanket and he sat beside Shuichi.

"I never thought you would actually go through so much lengths to save Shuichi, Tatsuha." Hiro continued "You really are becoming a hero."

Eiri just looked over at Shuichi who was still asleep. "Hiro, you should get some sleep. Don't you need to work tomorrow?"

Hiro was shocked. "But what about Shuichi?"

"I'll take care of Shuichi. Besides, if all three of us can't work, Miss Judy'll throw a fit."

"Well, I got to agree with you on that. Alright. But if I hear you doing something perverted, I'll give you something you'll never forget."

"Don't worry. I won't. I promise."

Hiro, looking convinced, turned around and walked to his bedroom. Eiri pulled Shuichi close to him so Shuichi's head was on his shoulder and began stroking his hair. Eventually, he heard Shuichi moan and realized he woke up.

"You're finally awake." said Eiri.

Shuichi looked up at him. "Tatsuha? What happened? All I remember was those guys from before. Did they do something?"

Eiri looked at him with worry. "They tried to kill you. They threw you Lake Mizu before I could stop them. I don't know why. Have you ever seen them before?"

"Only that time when they tried to steal from me but that's it." Shuichi tried to sit up. "I should make some cocoa."

Eiri tried to stop him. "You've only just woken up. You should stay seated."

"But it'll make things warmer."

"I don't care. You're in no condition to do anything reckless."

But Shuichi stood up anyways. The moment he did, he lost his balance and grabbed onto Eiri before they both fell on the ground with Eiri on top. "Are you ok?" asked Eiri.

Shuichi looked up at him and nodded; eyes locking onto each other. They went back to the trance that they felt before. The next thing they knew, they were making out with each other on the floor. It wasn't until Shuichi realized what he was doing before he pushed Eiri away. "You know what? It's too late for cocoa. I'm just going to go to bed. Goodnight." And without another word Shuichi got up and went to his bedroom. As soon as he got there, he walked to his bed and laid down. He didn't know what just happened there. Everytime he'd look at Tatsuha he would see Prince Eiri. But how could that be? They were just two different people. He didn't know what to think anymore.

Eiri on the other hand still sat on the floor near the fireplace. He couldn't believe he kissed Shuichi. He felt so happy. But he knew that in Shuichi's eyes, it seemed like he was kissing Tatsuha. Eiri wanted to show that he was Prince Eiri, but he was afraid of what would happen. He got up and walked back to his bedroom; wondering if he would ever really get to be with Shuichi.

**Pinkshuchan: Aww. Wasn't that cute? What will happen next? Read and Review!**


	8. Tatsuha's Plan Eiri's Prevention

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hi everyone! It's Pinkshuchan! I'm back with the next chapter of The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper. I have nothing else to say. All I can say is that this really is a really long chapter. I hope you have lots of time. Enjoy!**

Chapter 7

Tatsuha's Plan; Eiri's Prevention

Eiri woke up the next morning with something wet and rough against his cheek. His eyes winced at first, but then he opened them. He turned his head to see Mr. Meow who was now licking his nose. Eiri chuckled before sitting up and picked up the cat before placing it on his lap.

"Good morning Mr. Meow." he said "How are you today?" The cat meowed at response. Eiri chuckled again. "I guess you already know I'm actually someone else right?" The cat meowed again. "Because if I was really Tatsuha, you would be attacking me by now." The cat hissed in response. "Well, since you know I'm not Tatsuha, I need your help. It's about Shuichi. After meeting her, I don't feel like myself. I'm like a completely different person when I'm near her. I feel like I should tell her that I'm the prince but I don't know how she'd react. I don't know if she'll be happy to see it's me or if she'll want nothing to do with me. What do you think?" Mr. Meow just meowed. "I guess I have to follow my heart on this one, huh? Well, I really want to tell her. I don't think I can keep lying like this. But I don't know."

Then, Eiri heard a familiar voice singing outside. He opened the window and looked upwards to his left to see Shuichi at his window singing to a bluebird that was singing along. It was then Eiri knew that he needed to tell Shuichi the truth. Mr. Meow led him to Shuichi's room and realized the door was partially open. He opened it all the way to see Shuichi as he was singing at the window. When he was done, he turned around to see Eiri standing there; causing him to jump.

"Tatsuha! You startled me." he said.

"Sorry." said Eiri "Shuichi, I want to talk to you." He began walking towards Shuichi. "It's about the events that happened all the way to yesterday."

It seemed like Shuichi remembered the day before well becasue he was blushing really hard. He had a feeling about what was going to be said. He was beginning to think that _Tatsuha_ was going to say he was in love with him. He didn't want that to happen. "I don't really want to talk about it." he said before passing Eiri and walking out the door. Eiri followed.

"Shuichi, you really need to know. It's important."

"I'm sorry Tatsuha, but I'm really busy."

"You didn't look busy when I saw you a few seconds ago."

"I was taking a break."

"You can at least listen to me for a few seconds."

Shuichi turned around and faced him. "Tatsuha, I just want to forget that kiss ever happened, ok? It was a mistake. I didn't mean it."

"I know. You didn't mean to kiss _Tatsuha_. But I'm..."

Before Eiri could continue, Hiro found them and walked over to them. "I see you're both feeling better." he said "Think you can work today?"

"Of course I can!" said Shuichi.

"You sure?"

"Yes. I'm positive. Is there a job that's needed right now? I'll do anything."

"Well, Miss Judy wants both you and Tatsuha to take care of Riku."

"But why does Tatsuha have to help? I've always been able to take care of Riku all by myself. So why is Tatsuha going to help?"

"Let me say it a different way. Miss Judy is worried about what would happen if you are all by yourself after what happened yesterday. So she wants you to stay in the orphanage and she wants either me or Tatsuha to stay beside you. It would be me, but I have a really important job to do today that Miss Judy asked me to do so I can't."

Shuichi lowered his head. "I understand. If Miss Judy says I must then I must."

"One question Hiro." said Eiri "What is this important job you need to do?"

"Haven't you heard? The king was thinking of inviting Princess Ayaka to the kingdom so she would get a good look of the kingdom she would soon become the queen of."

After hearing everything, Shuichi turned his head away and avoided all eye contact with Hiro and Eiri. "I'm just going to go ahead and see Riku." With that said, he left. Eiri could've sworn that he saw tears coming down his face. But before he can go see if Shuichi is ok, he wanted to know what exactly was the job Hiro was going to do.

"What did all that have to do with the important job you're doing."

"Well, someone needs to accompany her around the kingdom. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm to take her everywhere; even to meet Prince Eiri."

Eiri's eyes widened at his name. He knew that they would be meeting Tatsuha disguised as himself. If Hiro met up with Tatsuha, then the cat would be out of the bag. Eiri couldn't let that happen. Not until he'd let only Shuichi know the truth. "Do you want to do this job?"

"Of course. This is helping royalty you know. I'm not going to pass this opportunity pass."

"Well, why not do it another day? I mean, it's not like Princess Ayaka would be going anywhere right after she comes to the Kage Kingdom, right? So why not do it tomorrow." 'At least tomorrow I would've told Shuichi I was the prince.' he added in his head.

"No way. I may be doing something great for the kingdom. Besides, Miss Judy expects me to do this so I have to go."

"Why don't I go instead and you take care of Shuichi?"

Hiro blinked a few time then gave an amused smirk. "I think I see what's going on. You just don't want to take care of Shuichi. Well too bad. I'm going." And so, Hiro left. Eiri knew it was going to be the end. At least he'd be able to tell Shuichi the truth before Hiro finds out. He walked through the halls of the orphanage until he reached Riku's bedroom and peeked in. Shuichi was sitting there on the bed; holding the sick child in his arms like he really was Riku's mother and Riku laid his head on Shuichi's chest. Eiri really liked the sight of it. It made him think that this was the sight he would always see if Shuichi ever had his child.

"Mama?" Riku asked "I wish I was feeling better. Then we could play Knights."

Shuichi just held him closer and kissed his forehead. "Even if you were better, we don't have anyone else here to play with us."

Eiri couldn't help but feel bad about Riku's health. After all, he was said to have been sick for two whole months. He knew there was something he had to do. Then, he knew what to do. He knew the game Knights very well. When he was younger, Tohma and Mika would always play it with him. Besides, who said that Riku couldn't play because he was sick. He decided that was what he would do. He walked into the room over to the bed and pulled Shuichi close to him; making Shuichi let go of Riku.

"I got you!" said Eiri.

Shuichi began to struggle out of his grasp. "Tatsuha what the heck are you doing?" he yelled.

"I have captured the beautiful princess of course. And of course there is no knight in this entire world able to save you."

Shuichi began to understand what Eiri was thinking and decided to play along. "Oh no! There must be someone who can help me."

Riku knew what they were doing. He grabbed the toy sword from beside the bed and aimed it at Eiri. "I'll save you Princess." he said in a heroic voice.

Eiri let go of Shuichi and walked over to Riku. "I'd like to see you try." And so, they pretended to fight until Eiri grabbed the sword from Riku and held it under his arm. "Oh no! I'm dead. The great knight has killed me." And so, he dropped to the ground and pretended he was dead. Riku couldn't help but giggle with Eiri's acting. Shuichi ran over to Riku.

"My hero." he said, giving Riku a kiss on the cheek. Riku kept laughing until he began to cough. Shuichi stayed beside him until he was calm again and the coughing stopped. Then, Riku went to sleep. Shuichi looked over at Eiri who was currently feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry." said Eiri "If I knew it would be that bad, I wouldn't have..."

"Forget it." said Shuichi "It's not your fault. You were just trying to help. You made Riku really happy. You should probably go. I've got this."

"I really need to talk to you Shuichi."

"For what? We already talked. We even played a game of Knights for Riku. There's nothing left."

"Yes there is. There's something I really need to tell you Shuichi."

"Can't it wait until later?"

"No, it can't. It's something I need to tell you now."

"Tatsuha..."

"It's really important and I need to tell you before the day ends because..."

"I DON'T LIKE YOU TATSUHA! DON'T YOU GET IT? NOW LEAVE!"

Eiri stood silent from the sudden outburst. He had a feeling that maybe it really wasn't the best time to tell Shuichi. "Alright then. Maybe later." He then left the room. He really didn't want to leave but the look in Shuichi's eyes at that moment said otherwise. However, that didn't mean he was going to give up on telling Shuichi the truth. He was determined to tell the truth and then go back to the castle.

Meanwhile, Tatsuha and Ryuichi were sitting in the bedroom; trying to figure out how they were going to get Shuichi to come to the castle. They had figured out that Shuichi was the princess of the Hikari Kingdom. However, they didn't know how they were going to get Shuichi over to the castle and show to the king that the princess was still alive. As they were thinking, Sakano came into the room.

"Excuse me Your Highness. Your father wants to see you." said Sakano.

"Alright." said Tatsuha. He looked over at Ryuichi. "Ryuichi, could you go see to the matter we discussed?"

Ryuichi bowed. "Yes _Your_ _Highness_." said Ryuichi "Kumagoro and I will do our best." He then left the room. Sakano walked over to Tatsuha.

"Your Highness? Please don't mind me asking but what did you ask him to do?"

"Simple. I asked him to study on rabbits."

"Rabbits? Why rabbits?"

"He wanted to know where the rabbits came from. It'll keep him busy while we see the matters _my_ father has."

And so, they went to the audience hall where the king of the Hikari Kingdom was waiting for _Eiri_. There beside him was a beautiful young woman with long brown hair and... Hiro? Tatsuha didn't get it. Why was Hiro there? If he found out that the prince in front of him was really Tatsuha in disguise, he and Eiri would be in hot water. But then a thought came to him. Hiro may be the one who could get Shuichi to come to the castle. But first he had to see what the king wanted.

"Eiri, I'm so glad you could come." said the king "Though, I didn't expect you to come right after I sent Sakano to get you."

"Well, I decided I might as well get this over and done with so I could see to my own matters." said Tatsuha. He was beginning to believe that he was good at pretending to be Eiri. No one seemed to notice the difference.

"I promise to make this quick. You remember Princess Ayaka?"

"Yes. I remember."

"Well, I'm not sure when the Hikari Kingdom will make a move but I'm not going to wait to find out. That's why I've decided to get the corronation and your marriage to Princess Ayaka over with."

"WHAT?" Tatsuha couldn't believe it. The king was going to hurry along Eiri's corronation and marriage?

"Yes. That's why I asked Princess Ayaka to come to the Kage Kingdom. If we combine the Kage Kingdom with the Hana Kingdom, all four of the five kingdoms will combine together against the Hikari Kingdom and destroy it. That will show that bastard I'm not to blame. Now, I must go make the war plans. If you excuse me." And so, the king went back to his chambers. Tatsuha knew that he had to get Shuichi to the castle fast which is a good thing Hiro was at the castle. He walked over to him.

"Excuse me." he said "Can I talk to you?"

"Me Your Highness?" Hiro asked.

"No, the wall. Of course I mean you. I want to ask a few questions."

"Of course Your Highness. What is it?"

Tatsuha knew he had to pretend to be clueless about who Hiro was. " I've never seen you in the castle. Are you from the Hana Kingdom? You look like you are from the Kage Kingdom."

"Actually, I am from the Kage Kingdom. I'm just escorting Princess Ayaka around the kingdom until she becomes your wife."

"I see." Tatsuha knew he had to think of something to mention Shuichi. But what? Wait! He remembered Eiri's reason for wanting to leave the castle besides freedom. He met Shuichi in the castle. "You know, there was a _girl_ from outside the castle that came before. _She_ was very beautiful. Maybe you know _her_. _She_ had violet eyes and short pink hair."

"Shuichi?"

"Shuichi! That's _her_ name. You see, after that day, I wanted to see _her_ again but I can't leave the castle. Could it be possible if you could bring _her_ back here? I want to be able to see _her_ again before I get married."

"I'm sorry Your Highness but I can't."

"Why not?"

"_She_ was attacked yesterday by these guys. They almost drowned _her_ in Lake Mizu. If one of us didn't see it happen, who knows what would've happened to _her_."

"Well, I can assure you that _she_ will be safe to come to the castle."

"Sorry, but I can't risk it. Now I must go Your Highness. If you excuse me." And so, Hiro left. Tatsuha couldn't believe it. If he didn't get Shuichi to the castle, then Eiri would have to marry Princess Ayaka and fight the Hikari Kingdom. It was time for Plan B. He would have to find Ryuichi and the two of the them would have to sneak out of the castle, find Eiri, and tell him everything. He just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

Meanwhile, Ryuichi was skipping in the halls with Kumagoro in hand to find a way to get Shuichi into the castle. Little did he know that someone was following him.

"And what is the jester doing skipping around the castle like this?" said the mysterious person.

"Kumagoro and I are looking for a way to get the princess into the castle." said Ryuichi subconsciously.

"But I thought Princess Ayaka is already in the castle."

It was then that Ryuichi knew he was duped. He turned around to see Kitazawa standing there. "Uh, did I say 'a way to get the princess into the castle'? I mean 'some way the princess could see the whole castle.'" He was about to run until Kitazawa grabbed his arm.

"No, you said 'a way to get the princess into the castle'. The only other princess I know of is the Princess of the Hikari Kingdom, but she's supposed to be dead."

Ryuichi knew he had to distract Kitazawa. After all, he knew he shouldn't tell anyone about Shuichi being the princess until they managed to get him into the castle. He had to think of something. "Do you want to hear a joke, Master Kitazawa? It's really good. I promise you. You ready? Ok. What did the big toe say to the little toe? There's a heel behind us. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Unfortunately, Kitazawa didn't laugh. "Aww. Tatsuha always thinks my jokes are funny." At that moment, he covered his mouth with his hand. He wasn't supposed to say anything about Tatsuha.

"And who is this 'Tatsuha'?"

"Uh, it's... him!" He lifted up Kumagoro. "He's Tatsuha. Right Kumagoro?" Kumagoro glared at him. "What?"

"You just said his name is Kumagoro." said Kitazawa.

"Uh... Kumagoro is his nickname."

"Well then, I'm sure 'Kumagoro' will give me the info I need." Then without warning, he snatched Kumagoro from Ryuichi. "Now then jester. You will tell me everything I need to know or the bunny gets it."

"Please no!" Ryuichi cried "Don't hurt him! He's my only friend!"

"Then will you coopperate?"

"... ... Alright..." 'Forgive me Tatsuha.'

Meanwhile on his way back to the orphanage, Hiro was walking through the streets until Judy walked over to him. "Hello Hiroshi." she said "How was the job?"

"It was great Miss Judy." said Hiro "I never knew the castle would be so great. And Princess Ayaka is not only beautiful. She's also very smart. She and I spent hours talking on history and mathematics. It was wonderful."

"I see." They were both silent for a while until Judy spoke up. "Hiroshi? I think it's time to tell Shuichi the truth."

"What? But it'll kill him. Why bring it up?"

"Because if I keep it any longer, he'll be even more hurt."

"But still, it's the only thing he has. If we tell him, he'll break."

"What do you think is best? He finds out now and it'll be over and done with or let him find out himself and hate us for a long time for not telling him?"

Hiro couldn't help but agree that it was for the best. Hiro decided that he should be the one to tell Shuichi. He wanted to be the one to break the news. They made it back to the orphanage as soon as night fell. Hiro walked over to Shuichi's room and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Shuichi's voice asked through the door.

"It's Hiro." said Hiro.

"Come in!"

Hiro opened the door to see Shuichi sitting on his bed with Mr. Meow on his lap. Shuichi smiled at him. It made it feel harder to say it but he knew he had to. "Shuichi, there's something I really have to tell you."

"Before you tell me, tell me what it was like working for royalty. The last time I was in the castle, I was cleaning."

"It was nice but this is something really important I need to tell you."

"Funny. Tatsuha said he had something important he had to tell me too, but I know that what you have to tell me is completely different from what you have to tell me."

"I'm believe it is too. I'm sure what he wants to tell is something different from what I have to tell you."

"What is it?"

Hiro sat down beside Shuichi and took his hand into his. "I'm just gonna go out and say it. I don't know how to break it to you but... Shuichi... the truth is..."

**Pinkshuchan: CLIFFHANGER! What do you think is the truth that Hiro is telling Shuichi? Will Eiri tell Shuichi he's the prince? Will Tatsuha be able to get Shuichi into the castle? And what do you think will happen now to Ryuichi now that Kitazawa has him? Find out next chapter. Read and Review everyone!**


	9. The Truth Is Revealed

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hiya everyone! It's Pinkshuchan! Last chapter I left you all with a cliffhanger. Well, now you get the chance to see what Hiro told Shuichi. Also, by the title of the chapter you can tell that a truth will be revealed. What truth? This is definitely the longest chapter so far in The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper. I'm positive of it this time. In fact, this is the longest chapter I've ever written for any of my stories. So I hope you've got lots of time. If you wonder why I didn't just separate all this, it's because all this is connected together. Anyways, here's the chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 8

The Truth Is Revealed

Eiri sat on the couch near the fireplace; planning about how he was going to tell Shuichi. He knew he had to do something to get Shuichi's mind off the kiss in order to tell him, but the question was how. Suddenly, he saw Hiro walking in. He looked like there was something weighing in his mind. Curious, Eiri got up from the couch and walked over to him.

"What's wrong Hiro?" he asked.

Hiro looked at him and just shook his head. "I just had something to tell Shuichi." he said "I'm beginning to wonder if it was a good idea to tell the truth." He then walked away. Eiri didn't know what he was talking about. Nevertheless, he had to go see Shuichi. He walked through the halls until he reached Shuichi's room. When he reached for the door, he heard sobs from the other side.

He opened it to reveal Shuichi sitting on his bed crying while holding Mr. Meow in his arms. After seeing Eiri, the cat meowed to show he was aware of the prince's presense. Eiri walked over to the bed and placed his hand on Shuichi's shoulder. Shuichi looked up at him with red swollen eyes. He put Mr. Meow down and began to wipe the tears away before avoiding Eiri's gaze.

"What the hell do you want?" Shuichi sobbed.

"I wanted to know if you were ok." said Eiri.

"Well, I'm not... ... ... All this time...sniff... ... I never... ... I had a feeling about it but... sob... ... I wouldn't believe it... but now... I see it's true... ... Why?... ... Why did it have to be like this?... ... ..."

"What is?" Eiri brought Shuichi closer to him. "Please Shuichi. Tell me. I want to help."

"There's nothing you _can_ do to help... It's impossible."

"I won't believe it's impossible unless I hear what it is."

Shuichi looked up at Eiri. The tears ran down his face. "I never realized it fully until now... ... ... Riku... his illness is worse than I thought..."

"How bad?"

"He may not make it through the winter."

Shuichi hid his face in Eiri's shoulder and let all his tears out. Eiri couldn't believe it. There was a chance that Riku could die? He didn't want to believe it either. Even though he didn't know Riku as well as anyone else, he still felt like he wanted to cry. He knew how much the child meant to Shuichi and he knew that if Riku actually died, Shuichi may never smile again.

"There has to be someway we can prevent this." said Eiri.

"There is... ... ... but it's impossible." Shuichi cried.

"Tell me."

"We'd have to get one of the greatest doctors in the land to come see him... ... but... ... ... we barely have enough money to keep the orphanage running... ... If we use the money we have now to help Riku... ... all the other orphans would be in trouble... ... ..."

Eiri continued to hold Shuichi in his arms until Shuichi had stopped crying and fell asleep. He then got Shuichi into the bed and under the covers. Shuichi's face was completely wet from all the tears that fell. Eiri ran his fingers through Shuichi's soft pink hair and laid a kiss on the beautiful slightly parted lips.

"I need to do something." he whispered to himself "There _is_ something I can do. I just know it." Mr. Meow meowed. Eiri walked over to him, kneeled down and stroke the cat's fur. "Take care of Shuichi." And so, he walked out of the room, out of the orphanage and out into the town. When he got to the square, the scene shocked him.

It wasn't just the orphanage in need of money. Almost the entire town was poor. Everyone was out on the streets begging for money. How was it the entire town was poor? Suddenly, he saw a few townspeople over at a carriage. He noticed that the carriage was the tax carriage. Eiri walked over to see what was going on.

"Alright you dogs." said the tax collector "Pay up!"

"But sir, we don't have any money." said a young man "The town's completely broke."

"No money eh? Well then, sell some things!"

"We've already sold as many things as we could." said a middle aged woman "We don't have anything left."

"Oh, then I guess you're all going to prison."

People began to scream. Eiri knew he had to put a stop to it. "Stop right this instant!" he yelled at the tax collector "Don't you get it? The people are poor. They can't pay for anything. The tax is too high!"

"Not according to Master Kitazawa." said the tax collector "He said that this amount of money is enough for anyone to pay. These people here are just too stubborn to pay up."

Kitazawa? Why did he make the order? It didn't matter. Eiri needed to help his people. "Well, Kitazawa is wrong. The people are starving. They are all in poverty. I demand that you give them their money back and lower the taxes."

The tax collector jumped down from the carriage. He was a very big fat guy with a smug face. He grabbed Eiri by the shirt and threw him on the ground. The throw caused Eiri to gain a few small cuts on his face and one big cut on his arm; allowing blood to flow down. "Who are you to order me around, you little punk?" yelled the tax collector "You have no power over me. What makes you think you can order me around like you're the prince?"

Eiri knew he had no choice. Besides, he knew today would be the day he would have to return to the castle. He might as well reveal himself. He stood up and grabbed his left sleeve. "This!" He lift the sleeve up so the purple pentagram could be seen. Everyone was shocked; including the tax collector. The big guy fell to his knees and bowed. After all, the purple pentagram could only been seen on the arm of royalty of the Kage Kingdom.

"I'm terribly sorry Your Highness. If I had known, I wouldn't have done what I just did. Please forgive me!"

Eiri crossed his arms; being careful not to hurt his injured arm some more. "I'm not sure you deserve it. You sure look very guilty."

The tax collector grabbed his legs. "Please Your Highness! I beg of you! I never meant to. I didn't even know it was you. Honest! Please!"

"Alright. On the condition that you give the townspeople the money you took from them. If I catch you doing something like this again, I will get my father to have you executed."

The big man gave one final bow before he ran away. Eiri walked to the carriage. "People of the Kage Kingdom." he announced "No more will you have to pay high taxes. I give to you the money that was stolen from you!" He opened the carriage and gave everyone back the money they lost. The people cheered and chanted "All hail Prince Eiri!" over and over again. They were happy that their prince cared for them. After giving all the money to the people, there was a few bags of money left. He knew that not only would it be enough to keep the orphanage running, it would be enough to get a doctor to help Riku. This would also be the best way for him to tell Shuichi he's the prince. He rushed back to the orphanage in order to complete his business before he goes back to the castle.

Meanwhile in the castle, Tatsuha was wandering around the castle; searching for Ryuichi. He knew he had to be around somewhere. He had to find him quick so they could sneak out of the castle, find Eiri and Shuichi, and tell them the truth. However, he couldn't leave Ryuichi.

"Ryuichi!" he called "Ryuichi where are you?" There was no luck. He couldn't find Ryuichi anywhere. He was so worried about the jester that he didn't realize where he was going and he bumped into someone. That someone he bumped into was Kitazawa.

"Oh hello there Master Kitazawa." he said "How are you doing tonight?"

"I'm good Your Highness." said Kitazawa. He leaned into Tatsuha's ear and as an addition he whispered "Or should I say 'Tatsuha'."

Tatsuha's eyes widened at the shock. "How do you know?"

Kitazawa snapped his fingers and his three accomplices came with Ryuichi and Kumagoro trapped within their grasp. Ryuichi was crying as he was struggling to get out.

"I'm sorry Tatsuha." he cried "I'm so sorry. It was an accident!"

Tatsuha knew he was in trouble. What was he gonna do? He needed to get to Shuichi and Eiri. But he couldn't leave Ryuichi. "Let him go!" he spoke with his teeth clenched in anger.

"Not unless you do what I say." said Kitazawa "If you cooperate, I'll let him go."

"What the hell is it you want?"

"Simple. You are going to go through the corronation and then make me heir. I won't assure you your life will be safe after you do so, but I _can_ assure you the jester would be spared. And his little rabbit too."

Tatsuha knew he had no choice. "Alright. I'll do it. Now let him go!"

"I'm not going to let the idiot jester go that easily. If I let him go right now, you both may escape me. He will stay with me until you complete your task." And so, Kitazawa and his minions took off with Ryuichi; leaving Tatsuha alone to suffer.

Meanwhile back at the orphanage, Shuichi was just waking up after a short nap. He must've been very tired. He got up and walked around the orphanage until he got to the couch near the fireplace. There he saw Judy drinking some tea.

"Hello Shuichi." she said "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes thank you." said Shuichi "But... is Riku really...?"

She lowered her head. "I'm afraid so. Hiroshi had given him checkups everyday and we saw that his illness was fatal. I'm sorry Shuichi."

Shuichi sat down beside her. "I don't want to believe it."

"I know you don't want to but it's the truth. You'll get over it."

"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? There's no way I'll ever get over Riku. I love him. I love him as if he really _was_ my son. No one can ever bring that kind of love to me."

"What about Tatsuha?"

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "Tatsuha?"

"Yes. I've seen the way you both have been looking at each other. You like each other. That may explain why you both have been arguing for a long time and now have been mature to each other."

"Miss Judy you've got it wrong. I don't think of Tatsuha that way."

As Shuichi and Judy were talking, they were unaware of Eiri walking through the door with the bags of money. He was ready to tell Shuichi the truth when he could overhear the conversation. He couldn't help but hide behind a wall and listen to the conversation.

"So, there's nothing going on between you and Tatsuha?" he heard Judy.

"No, there isn't." he heard Shuichi's voice "I don't even like Tatsuha. Sure he's become a sweeter guy to me, but he told me himself it was possible he would no longer be that way. The truth is I don't care if he became a sweeter guy or not. I still don't like him. I wouldn't even like anyone who was similar to him in any way."

Eiri became hurt with what he heard. Shuichi said he doesn't anyone who's similar to Tatsuha in any way, and if he remembered correctly, he was practically Tatsuha's twin. He began to believe that maybe Shuichi _wouldn't _care if he was the prince or not. He left to put the money away before he would head back to the castle. It wasn't a good idea for him to leave because Shuichi continued talking.

"However, there is _someone_ I like. Before I met him, I never thought I would find a man I love. But now, I know I've met him."

"Really? Who is he? What's he like?"

"Well, he's really sweet and kind and he looks like Tatsuha except with different colored hair and eyes."

"I thought you said you don't like anyone who's similar to Tatsuha in any way?"

"I meant personality wise. I got to admit Tatsuha is cute, but I don't like who he is."

"I see. Well then, continue."

"Well you see, I really like him Miss Judy but I don't think he may feel the same for me."

"How do you know?"

"He's got a fiancee."

"You should at least tell him how you feel. And even if he doesn't feel the same, it would be a good thing to get it off your chest. But, it's up to you Shuichi." Judy got up and went into the kitchen. Shuichi walked into his room to think things over. He really did want to see Eiri but he was scared. What if he didn't feel the same for him? As he walked into his room, he noticed some bags sitting on his bed. He opened the bags to see that there was money. It was enough to keep the orphanage running and get a doctor to cure Riku. But who would leave it there? Mr. Meow walked over to Shuichi. In his mouth was an envelope. Shuichi took the envelope and opened it.

_Dear Shuichi,_

_You are a very amazing person and I thank you for everything that you have done. In return, I have managed to get a hold of some money so you and your beloved family can stay together. I wish you the best of luck._

_Sincerely,_

_His Highness Prince Eiri_

Shuichi couldn't believe his eyes. The prince himself came by to give the money he needed? But why? Now that Shuichi began to think about it, how did Eiri know where he lived? And more importantly, how did he know his name? Now Shuichi knew his answer. He had to see Prince Eiri and figure out everything. He grabbed his cape, ran out the orphanage and ran to the castle; determined to see Eiri and get to the bottom of the mystery.

Little did Shuichi know that Eiri was nowhere near the castle. He sat by himself on a wooden box in sorrow as Shuichi's words ran through him. He didn't want to believe that Shuichi didn't have any feelings for him but he had to face it. He was a prince and Shuichi was a pauper. They could never be together no matter how much he wished it. Before he was ready to go to the castle, Hiro found him. He looked really worried about something.

"Tatsuha!" said Hiro "I'm glad I found you." Eiri realized he was still wearing the wig and contacts that made him look like Tatsuha. He knew he had to clear the confusion.

"Look Hiro." he began "I'm not..."

"Tatsuha, Shuichi's disappeared."

That got Eiri's attention. Even though Shuichi said indirectly that he didn't like him, he was willing to find him. "How did Shuichi disappear?"

"I don't know." said Hiro "But all I know is that we have to hurry. Those guys from before could be searching too."

"Then let's go!" And so, Eiri and Hiro ran off in search of Shuichi. They searched every nook and cranny of the town. Eventually, they had checked everywhere they could think and gave up. That was until they heard a scream. It was Shuichi. They ran to the direction of the scream to find Shuichi tied up against a pole with Taki beside him.

"Let her go!" Eiri yelled.

"I don't think so." said Taki "Ken! Maa-kun! Get them!"

Before Eiri and Hiro could do anything, Ken and Maa-kun grabbed them from behind and made it so they couldn't move. Taki walked up to Eiri with a smirk on his face. "It's nice to see you again Mr. Tatsuha. Or should we say..." With his fingers, he poked Eiri in the eyes to remove the contacts and snatched the wig from his head. "Your Highness Prince Eiri!"

Hiro and Shuichi couldn't believe their eyes. All this time, the Tatsuha that was with them since the first attack was actually Prince Eiri in disguise. At that moment, Shuichi began to regret what he said. If he knew that it was really Eiri, he wouldn't have said that he didn't like him. He didn't like Tatsuha but he was in love with Eiri. Also, Shuichi began to feel relieved that he kissed Eiri instead of Tatsuha. He just wished he knew sooner.

"Just one question that keeps echoing in my mind." Taki continued "Why would the prince of the Kage Kingdom decide to switch places with a lowly pauper? Was it to get away from all your duties as prince? Was it to explore the life outside the castle? Or is it simply because a certain beautiful maiden has captured your heart?"

"There was a maiden who captured my heart until she told someone behind my back that she didn't like me." said Eiri as he glared at Shuichi.

"You're wrong!" Shuichi cried "It's not you Your Highness. I don't care if you had to appear in front of me as Tatsuha to show me your feelings. I love you!"

"Then how come you said that 'you don't like anyone similar to Tatsuha in any way'?"

"You heard that? I meant similar to him personality wise! That doesn't mean you!"

"Aww. How touching." said Taki in a mocking voice "You really love her that much Your Highness? Well then, why don't you enjoy a little show starring her. And no, she's not going to sing and dance for you." He leaned in towards Shuichi and began to lick on his neck. Eiri struggled to break free and save Shuichi but he couldn't. It hurt him to see the one he loved being sexually harassed. Taki began to undo Shuichi's dress and have his way with him. When he was able to pull the top half of the dress down, the sight he saw caused him to throw Shuichi onto the ground and onto his back; giving everyone a good view of Shuichi's chest. It was then they now knew.

Shuichi was a boy.

"Eww! That's disgusting!" said Taki "This little wench is no woman. She's a boy!"

Shuichi sat up; covering his chest. "I _am_ a woman." he yelled "I just have a really flat chest."

"Yeah but you're supposed to have at least something. Having a really flat chest at your age means you're male."

"I. Am. A. Woman." He looked over at Hiro. "Hiro, you believe I'm a woman right?" Hiro just avoided eye contact with Shuichi. "Hiro?"

"I'm sorry Shuichi." said Hiro "But, you really are male. You just kept thinking you were a girl and we didn't bother correcting you."

Shuichi couldn't believe it. "No. No! I'm a woman! I know I am! I just know it!" Hiro just kept shaking his head. Tears began to well up in Shuichi's eyes. "You mean to tell me that my entire life was a lie? I HATE YOU!" And so, he managed to run off. Taki began to curse himself for not thinking that Shuichi could actually run away. While everyone's attention was on Shuichi's escape, Eiri flipped his captor and ran off in a different direction than Shuichi did. Hiro took that as his own opportunity to kick his captor in between his legs and ran off in another direction.

"Forget about the red haired pauper!" Taki yelled "Get the prince and the princess! Master Kitazawa is more focused on them. Then again, we should tell him about the princess' true identity. It may appear useful to him." And with that said, Taki and the others left to tell Kitazawa the news.

Eiri was running for what seemed to be hours. He knew he had obviously ran out of the kingdom and out onto the land. He knew he had to find some shelter. He could tell there was going to be a big snowstorm. He tried to look around but the snow was getting into his eyes. After a long way of searching, he finally found an abandoned barn in which he knew he could use. He managed to walk over there and get inside to avoid the storm. Now that he was safe from the storm, he began to remember what just happened back there. All this time Shuichi was male. He had a feeling Tatsuha knew it the entire time and didn't bother telling him. No doubt if he did, Eiri wouldn't want to switch places with him; therefore the reason why he lied to him. He was so furious he began punching on the walls to release his anger. But then he got to wondering. Why _was_ he angry? Was it the fact that Shuichi was male? Or was it because he wasn't told so until that moment? Another question ran through his head. If he _was_ angry at Shuichi for being male, what _did_ he love about Shuichi before finding out the truth? Was it because he thought Shuichi was a girl? Or was it because he just _loved_ Shuichi? He found his answer. He was always calm around him. It didn't really matter if Shuichi was male or female. Before any more thoughts ran through his head, he heard sobs come from the other side of the barn. He followed them until he saw a familiar figure sitting on a bundle of hay.

It was Shuichi. It amazed Eiri to see that he and Shuichi had gone off in different directions and yet ended up at the same place. He was about to walk closer until he stepped on some kind of branch. It got Shuichi's attention and they stared into each other's eyes. Eventually Shuichi realized what he was doing, got up from his seat, and began to walk away.

"Wait Shuichi." Eiri called out to him.

"Just leave me alone." Shuichi cried "I'm not worthy enough to talk to you."

"That's not true. You _are _worthy enough. For anything you want. You don't have to run away."

"You're only saying that to make me feel better. I know that deep down you hate who I am. That I'm... ... male."

"You're wrong Shuichi. Male or female, none of that means anything to me."

"SHUT UP!"

Shuichi began to run out of the barn. Eiri followed; making sure that Shuichi didn't get hurt. Unfortunately, the snowstorm had begun. Both Shuichi and Eiri couldn't see a thing except each other. Eiri grabbed Shuichi's arm and tried to bring him back to the barn but Shuichi kept trying to run away. Eiri was bigger, but for some reason Shuichi was stronger and he ended up dragging the prince forward. It surprised Eiri that Shuichi was really strong for someone of his size. Shuichi kept moving until he tripped on something; dragging Eiri with him. It was a sleigh. And unfortunately, it was on the edge of a hill. Both males' weight caused the sleigh to move forward and ride down the hill with the two on it. And because of the storm, they couldn't see where they were going. It wasn't until they got closer that they saw that they were riding to the edge of a cliff. Eiri tried to get the sleigh to stop but he was too late. The sleigh had rode off. Luckily, Eiri still had hold of Shuichi's arm and with his other hand, he grabbed the ledge of the cliff.

"Just let me go!" Shuichi yelled at Eiri to be heard "You're important. You deserve to live unlike me!"

"Quit saying that!" Eiri yelled back "I'm not going to let you go! There's no way I'm planning on losing you again."

Then, the ledge that Eiri was holding on to broke off and they began to fall... ... ... ... ... ... into a big soft pile of snow that was only fifteen feet below them. You didn't really think I was going to make this a tragedy did you? Anyways, Shuichi and Eiri were saved by a giant soft pile of snow. When they finally got out, Eiri brought Shuichi back to the barn after hours of trying to find their way. When they got back, Eiri closed the doors so the snowstorm wouldn't come in. Shuichi just stood in silence with his back facing Eiri; still angsting over the fact that he was male. After closing the doors, Eiri walked over to him so there were very close and moved his hands up the feminine looking boy's back, onto his shoulders and down his arms. Shuichi moved himself away from the touch.

"Don't touch me!" Shuichi sobbed. But Eiri would not listen. He just brought Shuichi closer to him and wouldn't dare let him go. Shuichi kept struggling to break free from Eiri's grasp; yelling at him to let him go, but after a while he just stayed in his arms, letting all his tears fall. Eiri didn't dare to leave Shuichi's side. He didn't want to. He couldn't bear it. He kept Shuichi in his arms until he couldn't cry anymore.

"Shuichi." Eiri began "You're not alone. Don't think that because you found out you're male it means that everything gonna change. You can still think of yourself as a girl."

"That doesn't mean I am." Shuichi spoke in a soft voice after all that crying "I have to face the facts. I'm male. Nothing can change that. Everyone must hate that about me. That I'm male and I can't change it to be female."

"You're wrong. Everyone who knew you were male still care about you. They wouldn't have went through all the trouble of worrying about you if that wasn't true."

"It's just that... there had been times in my life when I'd like a guy and then after getting to know me, I find out he doesn't feel the same way. Now I know that I'll never find a guy who I like and who may feel the same way."

"You already have."

Shuichi's eyes widened as he looked up at Eiri. "What do you mean?"

"Back there you said you love me right? Well I... I... I... You see I..."

But before he could say another word, Shuichi kissed him. It was only five seconds before he pulled back. Eiri pulled Shuichi close to him and they stayed that like that for a while. There was nothing but silence until Shuichi walked over somewhere.

"What's this?" he asked "It looks like some colorful star."

Eiri walked over to where Shuichi was and looked at it. It was a piece of paper with a giant pentagram in the middle. The triangles were all colored in different colors except for the middle which stayed plain. The top triangle was colored red, the triangle on the left was colored yellow, the downleft triangle was colored green, the downright triangle was colored blue, and the triangle on the right was colored purple.

"This looks like a map of all the kingdoms." said Eiri.

Shuichi looked up at him. "Really?" he asked.

"Yes. The entire land is shaped like a giant star and the kingdoms made it become a pentagram. The red triangle is the Homura Kingdom, the green triangle is the Hana Kingdom, the blue triangle is the Kaze Kingdom, the yellow triangle is the Hikari Kingdom, and the purple triangle is the Kage Kingdom. The Hikari Kingdom and the Kage Kingdom were such good friends because they were across each other. That was until the war started it all. Now, all they want is to destroy one another and I don't even know what that reason is."

"Wow. I never knew any of this."

"Well, it's not really that interesting."

"Are you kidding? It sounds amazing. It must be wonderful to know many things such as this."

"Ok then. Whatever you say."

Shuichi looked down. "Your Highness... I..."

Eiri grabbed Shuichi's chin so he faced him and leaned forward to kiss. "Don't you remember what I told you the first day we met?" he asked as soon as he pulled away "I want you to call me Eiri."

Shuichi's eyes sparkled as they looked into Eiri's. "Eiri." he breathed out before another kiss was placed on his lips. They pulled each other closer to each other as they made the kiss deeper. They moved around the barn until they saw a big soft looking haystack; never breaking their kiss. They then fell onto the haystack with Eiri on top. Shuichi broke the kiss to let up a yelp and moved a little to the left.

"What's wrong?" asked Eiri.

"I felt something pointy in the haystack." said Shuichi "It hurts like hell."

Being a little curious to what could've hurt Shuichi so badly, Eiri dug through the haystack to find what it was. When he got to the very bottom of the haystack, he found the tiniest needle he'd ever seen. "How are you able to feel this?" he asked "This is a very tiny needle and it was right in the bottom of a giant haystack. What are you? The princess who could feel a pea under twenty mattresses?" He began to laugh.

"It's not funny." Shuichi turned around so his back was facing Eiri. Eiri leaned his head into the nape of Shuichi's neck.

"I'm sorry Shu. I didn't know you were so sensitive."

"Of course I am. I feel like I've become black and blue."

Eiri turned Shuichi back around and kissed him. "Do you want to sit somewhere else?"

"No, this is fine. It was just the needle." He leaned back so he was lying down on the haystack. "Eiri? I have something I want to ask of you."

"What's that?"

"I want you to make me yours. All of me. My body, my heart, and my soul. I want you to have all of it."

"Are you sure? If you were so sensitive to the needle just now, I don't want to cause you any more pain."

"I'll be fine. If it's you, I wouldn't give a damn if I feel pain you give me."

"Just so you know, I won't be able to stop the moment I start."

"I'm aware of it. Please. I want you to take me."

Eiri leaned forward so his lips were close to Shuichi's ear. "Very well." he whispered "I'll make you mine as if you really are a woman. Get ready." And so, Eiri began kissing Shuichi's neck as they began to make love.

Meanwhile back at the secret lair, Kitazawa was getting ready for when he would become king. Ryuichi and Kumagoro were put in two separate cages far apart from each other and the keys; Kumagoro's being the smaller one. It didn't seem like there were going to be any problems until the three accomplices ran in.

"What the hell is it now?" asked Kitazawa "This had better be good."

"Well Master Kitazawa, we have very interesting information concerning the princess of the Hikari Kingdom." said Taki.

That caught Kitazawa's attention. "Oh? And what is that?"

"It turns out the princess is not who she seems to be."

"And what's that?"

"She's a boy!"

Kitazawa's eyes widened. "WHAT?"

"That's right. The princess of the Hikari Kingdom is actually male. And Prince Eiri looked really disgusted when he saw it for himself."

"You mean you actually found and caught him?"

"Well, yes and no."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, we did catch him and the princess, but then they managed to escape. But the good news is that they won't get married to each other and combine the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom right?"

Kitazawa marched right over to him and began to strangle him. "YOU IDIOT!" he yelled "OF COURSE THEY WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER! THEY ALREADY HAVE! EVER SINCE THE TWO WERE JUST MERELY BRATS! AND I GAVE YOU EXACT ORDERS TO KILL THEM! IT WAS ONE THING! JUST ONE THING! AND YOU ALWAYS SCREW IT UP!" He then let go of Taki's neck and sighed. "If you want something done, you have to do it yourself. This time I will be coming along with you and make sure you three don't screw up. Again!" And so, Kitazawa and the three accomplices left to find Eiri and Shuichi.

Back at the barn, the two lovers had already finished their love making and were currently lying beside each other. Shuichi was rubbing Eiri's chest with his hand and Eiri was stroking Shuichi's hair. They were perfectly content with each other; it was almost as if they were a puzzle that was finally put together. It was all silent until Shuichi spoke up.

"Eiri?" he asked "There's one more question about the map I want to know."

"What's that?" asked Eiri.

"Why are all the kingdoms different colors?"

"So they could be told apart. That's the same with royalty."

"How so?"

Eiri sat up and turned so his left arm was facing Shuichi. "You see this pentagram? It is purple; symbolizing that I am a prince of the Kage Kingdom. If it were red I'd be from the Homura Kingdom, if it was blue I'd be from the Kaze Kingdom, if it were green I'd be from the Hana Kingdom, and if it were yellow..."

"You'd be from the Hikari Kingdom?" Shuichi asked in a non-believing voice.

"You're catching on." Suddenly, he noticed Shuichi sitting up. "What's wrong."

"Eiri? You may think I'm crazy but... I think I may be royalty."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Shuichi faced him. "I'm royalty. I have to be royalty. I have a pentagram on my left arm the same as you." He brought his arm close to Eiri. "See? And it's yellow. That means I must be from the Hikari Kingdom!"

Eiri couldn't believe his eyes. Right in front of him is the yellow pentagram; the symbol of the Hikari Kingdom. He never thought it possible. Then something occured to him. Could the war have started because...? No, it couldn't be.

"Shuichi. How old are you?"

Shuichi raised an eyebrow. "Why? Do I have to be a certain age to be with you?"

"That's not what I meant. I'm trying to figure out something and I need your age to confirm if it's right or not. What's your age?"

"Sixteen."

It was official. Eiri walked over to his clothes that were in a pile, put them on and walked to the door. It looked like the storm was over. He walked out of the barn with Shuichi; who already put his clothes on, and followed him.

"Eiri what is going on?" asked Shuichi as soon as he caught up "Will you please tell me?"

"I figured out how to stop the war." said Eiri "Everything makes sense now."

"What does? What is it?"

"You have the yellow pentagram on your left arm which means you are royalty of the Hikari Kingdom. The war started sixteen years ago which is how old you are. During the time you were living in the orphanage. Then there are those guys that keep attacking you. I think they have something to do with the fact that you were taken from the Hikari Kingdom and brought to the Kage Kingdom to be taken care of in an orphanage. The question is why?"

"Perhaps _I_ can explain it." The two turned to face Kitazawa. "However, I'd like to wait until _after_ we get back to the castle. Men, grab them!" And so, Ken and Maa-kun grabbed Shuichi and Eiri and held them hostage. They were then being dragged back to the castle where Kitazawa's plan was taking shape.

**Pinkshuchan: Whew! I thought I'd never get this chapter done. What's gonna happen to Shuichi and Eiri? Will Tatsuha be able to save Ryuichi while at the same time saving himself? Read and Review!**


	10. Must Stop The War

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hiya everyone! Pinkshuchan here! The story is getting closer to the end. Very close. Question is 'Will our heroes be able to stop the war and save the day before Kitazawa takes control?' Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Chapter 9

Must Stop The War

Deep within the secret lair, Ryuichi was sitting in his cage alone while Kumagoro was in the cage far away from him. Of course that didn't stop Ryuichi from talking to him. He kept talking about what may happen to Tatsuha and how worried he was for him. He also began to hope that somehow Eiri could figure out that Shuichi's a princess before he got caught by Kitazawa. Suddenly, the door opened and Kitazawa came in with his minions dragging Eiri and Shuichi in. They took the royal couple over to the two cages beside Ryuichi.

"Jester?" asked Eiri as soon as he noticed Ryuichi "What are you doing in there? Have your jokes become so bad you ended up locked in here?"

"No." said Ryuichi "The big meanie here is using me to get Tatsuha to pretend to be you during the corronation today."

"The corronation's today?"

"You would know if you had stayed in the castle." said Kitazawa "Then you wouldn't have to die. At least not today."

Eiri glared at him. "Damn you Kitazawa! What the hell is it you want?"

"Control over all five kingdoms. And it's thanks to the two of you that my plan is in motion."

"What are you talking about?"

Kitazawa sighed. "We have a few hours until the corronation starts so I'll tell you the whole story. You better get comfortable." He cleared his throat before continuing. "It all started more than twenty years ago. Your fathers were the best of friends and thought the friendship between the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom would last for eternity. That was until an old man came to them. He claimed that he could predict the future and told them that eventually, a prince of the Kage Kingdom and a princess of the Hikari Kingdom would fall in love with each other and combine the two kingdoms forever."

"How can Shuichi be a princess? He's male."

"True, but his appearance says otherwise. You can't tell me you knew he was male the first moment you saw him." Eiri remained silent. "Anyways, after you both were born you both were considered to be the prince of the Kage Kingdom and the princess of the Hikari Kingdom. I knew this was the perfect opportunity to take over the kingdom. A few days after the princess' birth, I sent my henchmen to kidnap him, take him to the Kage Kingdom's land and kill him. It would've been perfect if they didn't screw up." He glared at his accomplices who were whistling. Kitazawa sighed. "They heard someone coming and forgetting the baby princess; they left.

"Sixteen years had passed since then and after those long years I found out about the idiots' mistake. They never killed the princess. I then found out that the princess was being raised in an orphanage here in the Kage Kingdom. I sent the idiots to kill him for the second time and they failed... AGAIN!"

"We're sorry Master Kitazawa." The three minions bowed. "We know we failed but the reason we failed this time was because of him." They pointed at Eiri.

"There was no way I was going to let you kill Shuichi." Eiri yelled "Especially now knowing that we were engaged this entire time. When I get out of this cage, I'm going to expose your plan to my old man and have you executed."

Kitazawa laughed. "That's good Your Highness. That's considering I decide to let you leave let alone live. I'm going to make sure you both die a very painful death. Then using the jester, I'll convince that pauper look a like of yours to become king and make me the heir if a child of his isn't born. A few days later, I will kill him before he has to make an heir and then I'll become king. That is if the Hikari Kingdom doesn't kill him first. After that, I'll kill each of the kingdoms one by one until they all belong to me; starting with the Hikari Kingdom."

"NO!" Shuichi screamed.

"YES!" Kitazawa laughed maniacally. Suddenly, bells began to ring. "Shit. We spend all this time talking. I thought I still had enough time to make sure you both were killed but I guess I'll just have to hope that the idiots won't screw up." He looked over at Ken and Maa-kun. "You both are to see to it that the prince and princess die. I don't care how you do it. Just kill them." He looked over at Taki. "As for you, I want you to hold the jester hostage. The only way that pauper will cooperate is if we hold the jester captive in his sight but at the same time hidden from everyone else."

"What about the rabbit?" asked Taki.

"Ken and Maa-kun will take care of him. Now go!" And so, Taki grabbed the keys, opened the cage, grabbed Ryuichi, gave the keys to Maa-kun, and left the secret lair. "Now as for me, I have to get ready. The king expects me to be there on time." He looked over at Shuichi and Eiri. "I'm sorry I won't be here to hear your last words before you die. However, I know the death will be very painful." And as he left, his maniacal laughter could be heard through the halls.

Eiri and Shuichi looked into each other's eyes. "Eiri." said Shuichi as tears began to well up in his eyes "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" asked Eiri "It's not your fault."

"But I'm the one who got you into this mess. If I never existed..."

"Don't say that! I'd rather die this very moment than to never of known you. It's just as that old man had told our dads. We've fallen for each other. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. It just happened."

Shuichi began to cry. "I don't want to die. I don't want to be away from you for eternity."

Eiri stretched his arm out to Shuichi. Shuichi did the same; causing their hands to touch and hold each other. "You won't be. Life or death, we'll always be together. I promise. You won't be alone."

Shuichi looked down at Eiri's right arm. "You're bleeding."

Eiri looked at it. "I guess it's still bleeding from when I fought the tax collector."

"Why would you do that?"

"I did it for you. That way both Riku and the orphanage would be saved."

Shuichi looked at him with his eyes filled with sparkle. "Eiri... I..."

"Enough with the sap." said Ken as Maa-kun opened Shuichi's cage "Master Kitazawa wants you dead and that's what he's gonna get." Maa-kun grabbed Shuichi and tried to bring him over to the guillotine at the corner. However, Shuichi struggled to break free. As he was being dragged to his death, he stretched his arm to Eiri while screaming his name. Eiri in return did the same. Maa-kun put Shuichi down so his head was in the slot under the blade and held him so he wouldn't get away. Ken grabbed the rope holding the blade and held it for a moment. Shuichi continued to struggle, but he was too weak. Ken loosened his grip on the rope until he completely let go; letting the blade slash Shuichi's neck off. Shuichi closed his eyes ready for his death.

But death never came. He opened his eyes the same time he was being pulled from the guillotine. He turned around to see who it was. It was...

"Hiro!" Shuichi cried as he hugged his friend "I'm so sorry I said that I hated you. I didn't mean it. I..."

"I know." said Hiro "You were just upset at the time. I understand. But it was wrong of me to have not told you about it. I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"Did you know I was a princess as well?"

Hiro's eyes widened. "You're a princess?"

That answered the question. Hiro stood up, grabbed the keys from an unconscious Maa-kun, and got Eiri out. The moment the cage opened, Eiri ran out and held Shuichi into his arms. That was until Shuichi remembered the blood, ripped some cloth off a curtain, and used it as a bandage. All was silent after that until a question ran through Eiri's head. "Hiro, how did you know where to find us?" he asked.

"Well, I didn't come here alone." said Hiro. He pointed to something behind them. The royal couple turned around and saw...

"Captain K?" said Eiri and Shuichi simultaniously.

"The very same." said K with a big grin on his face.

"What are you doing here?" asked Eiri "I thought you were off to fight the Hikari Kingdom?"

"I think he knew something was wrong and he rushed back to the Kage Kingdom to check it out." said Shuichi.

"Well, there was that and the fact that I had yet to make an appearance in this fanfiction." said K "I mean, I did get mentioned in the first chapter but... Anyways, enough asking about me. We have to stop the corronation." And so, they rushed to the audience chamber where the corronation was supposed to be taking place. As they ran, Shuichi had some questions he wanted answered.

"Captain K?" he asked "You were the one that found me right? Did you know this whole time I was a princess?"

"Yes I did." said K "And that was the reason why we hid your identity. So that way Kitazawa wouldn't find out you were alive. Originally Judy and I were going to wait until I managed to bring the Hikari Kingdom back to the Kage Kingdom to show yourself as the princess, but Kitazawa found out you were alive after overhearing Tatsuha talking to the jester and his minions found you."

"That idiot. He should've known better."

"Well, he was unaware of Kitazawa being evil. No one did. Except me of course. I knew he was up to something the moment I first met him."

"And how did you know all of this?" asked Eiri.

"Kitazawa doesn't know this, but I managed to have a talk to the king of the Hikari Kingdom. I couldn't tell him that Shuichi was alive in case he told Kitazawa so I told him that the king of the Kage Kingdom had something important to say to him."

"Why the hell would he tell Kitazawa?"

"Apparently Kitazawa has been moving to the two different kingdoms to keep the war going. After all, the war has been going on for sixteen years so at least one of them would be getting tired of it. If one or both of the kings decided they wanted to stop the war, Kitazawa would make it so they continue fighting."

"Damn that Kitazawa. He's been fooling everyone for his own greed. Well he's not gonna get away with it. We've got to stop him before Tatsuha is crowned king." The four ran faster; hoping they would make it in time.

Meanwhile, Tatsuha was being dressed into some silk cloths made only for a king; getting ready to go through the corronation. He didn't want to do it. He wasn't even the prince. However, he knew he had to do it. He had to save Ryuichi. His heart was hoping that Eiri would figure out that something was wrong and rush to the castle, but he knew that wasn't possible. After he was ready, he was escorted to the audience chamber where the corronation was taking place. Everyone was waiting for Prince Eiri yet unaware that it was really Tatsuha who was nothing than a pauper. Tatsuha moved forward to the throne where a priest, the king, and Kitazawa was waiting for him. Hidden behind a curtain was Taki holding Ryuichi captive while holding a knife near the jester's neck. Only Tatsuha was able to see them. No one else could. Then, Ayaka walked over beside him. For a moment he had forgotten the corronation was also a wedding.

"We are gathered here today to crown the new king and queen of the Kage Kingdom." said the priest "We will start off with crowning the heir to the Kage Kingdom; His Highness Prince Eiri." The priest picked up a crown and tried to place it onto Tatsuha's head. Of course Tatsuha kept dodging the crown. He had a strong feeling that Eiri was on his way. He knew he had to stall for time. "Your Highness, we must put the crown on your head in order to make you king."

"What if I don't want to be king?" asked Tatsuha. That caused a lot of gasps from the audience. "I mean, not yet. There is so many things I must do as prince before I become king right?"

Kitazawa grabbed his arm and pulled his close so he could whisper. "Don't waste my patience. If you do, you know what happens to your little jester friend."

Tatsuha knew what he had to do. He pulled away from Kitazawa and looked over at the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen. I have something very important to tell you. Kitazawa here is not who he says he is. He is nothing but a crook that is trying to steal the throne."

Kitazawa ran over to him. "That is not true. The real prince would not accuse me of being a crook." It looked accidental, but Tatsuha knew it was on purpose. Kitazawa grabbed the wig and pulled it off; revealing raven black hair. Kitazawa pretended to gasp. "Why, you aren't the prince."

"No, but I am!"

Everyone turned their heads to see Eiri standing there with Shuichi, Hiro, and K standing beside him. Kitazawa was shocked. Wasn't he and Shuichi supposed to be dead? He wasn't going to let them win. "What proof do you have at being the prince?"

"Well, someone doesn't remember." said Eiri as he rolled up his left sleeve; revealing the purple pentagram "This answer your question?"

"Eiri!" the king of the Kage Kingdom called out "What the hell is going on? Why was there someone else pretending to be you?"

"Simple." He walked over to Tatsuha. "Tatsuha here was just taking care of things for me while I went to investigate the town for a reason why the war happened the way it did. He just happened to find some stuff of his own. Isn't that right Tatsuha?" He gave a wink to let Tatsuha know what was going on. Tatsuha caught on quickly.

"Yes that's right!" said Tatsuha "And I had found out that it was Kitazawa who made the war happen."

The king glared at Kitazawa. "Is this true?" Before Kitazawa could speak, something busted through the wall. It was the Hikari Kingdom lead by the king. Both kings glared at each other. "Are you trying to pick a fight with me?"

"You know I do." said the king of the Hikari Kingdom "After all, it was you who killed my child."

"I've told you a million times. I didn't kill your child."

Both kings were arguing and began to catfight. Everyone just stared at them until Eiri ran in front of them. "Enough!" he yelled "This war needs to stop!"

"I will never stop!" yelled the king of the Hikari Kingdom "Not after this bastard killed my child."

"That's where you're wrong Your Majesty! The princess of the Hikari Kingdom is still alive."

"Why should I believe you; the son of that bastard?"

"Because it's true Father."

Everyone looked over at Shuichi who was walking over to the king of the Hikari Kingdom. When he reached him, he lift up his left sleeve. "I'm your child. I've been raised here in the Kage Kingdom for protection. I've been alive the entire time."

The king of the Hikari Kingdom couldn't believe his eyes. After sixteen long years of angst, he was finally reunited with his beloved child. He ran to him and held him in his arms. Shuichi in return held him back; both were in tears.

"I can't believe this!" yelled Kitazawa "This wasn't supposed to happen. But I can still win." He snapped his fingers and an army of rebels surrounded the crowd. "I hired them in case this _did_ happen. Also, I still have the jester in my grasp, so if you don't want to see anything happen to him, you will surrender the kingdoms to me."

Everyone looked over at Taki who still had Ryuichi with him. They had to save him. "Ryuichi!" Tatsuha cried out ot him "You can fight him! Break free!"

"I can't!" cried Ryuichi "He still has Kumagoro."

"You mean him?" Shuichi held up the pink rabbit.

"KUMAGORO!" With all his strength, Ryuichi broke free from Taki's grasp; causing the minion to fall on his back, took the rabbit from Shuichi's hands, and held him close to him. "Oh Kumagoro! I'm so glad you're ok, nanoda!" He looked over at everyone. "I have a joke for everyone! What was the _real_ reason why the chicken crossed the road? Don't know? BECAUSE HE WANTED TO KICK AND PECK SOME BAD GUY ASS!"

Everyone was silent. That was except for Tatsuha who was laughing his butt off from the joke. "That's a good one Ryuichi!" he laughed.

Kitazawa snapped his fingers again. "Men, attack!" A battle commenced between the rebel soldiers Kitazawa chose and the soldiers of the Hikari Kingdom and the Kage Kingdom, including K and Eiri. Of course, the soldiers of the two kingdoms outnumbered the number of rebel soldiers and they won. Kitazawa was about to run until Eiri grabbed a rope, made it into a lasso, and caught him. The threat was over. The crowd cheered for the victory and the fact that the war was over. The two kings stood in front of everyone.

"People of the Kage Kingdom!" the king of the Kage Kingdom shouted "The war is over. Everything will be the same as it was before." The people continued cheering.

"And so because the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom are back to being friends, the original plan will go on. The prince of the Kage Kingdom and the princess of the Hikari Kingdom shall marry and combine the two kingdoms together." The crowd cheered louder. Shuichi ran into Eiri's arm and the two held each other for as long as possible. The king of the Kage Kingdom looked over at Ayaka.

"I'm really sorry you came all this way just so the engagement would be cancelled." he said.

"That's perfectly fine." said Ayaka "I'm just happy that the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom are back in peace with each other. Besides..." She walked over to Hiro. "I already have a king in mind." And without warning, she leaned in and kissed Hiro. Hiro in turn kissed her back. Tatsuha and Ryuichi walked over to each other and held each other very close; happy that neither one of them was dead, and from that day on, all five kingdoms were in peace.

**Pinkshuchan: Isn't that great? The war is over and everyone is having their happily ever afters. By the way, this isn't the last chapter. There is going to be an epilogue for the story which I promise will be posted up tomorrow. Read and Review everyone!**


	11. Epilogue: Happily Ever After

**Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hi everyone! Pinkshuchan here! As promised, I have the epilogue here to end The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper. I'm glad you guys have enjoyed it to the end. And this is a very happy ending. Well, here it is and please check out my other stories.**

Epilogue

Happily Ever After

Spring had finally come and the Kage Kingdom and the Hikari Kingdom rejoiced that the war had ended and that the two kingdom were united at last. Eiri's corronation as well as his and Shuichi's wedding was a spectacular event. The entire castle was decorated with light pink and blue flowers given to them by the Hana Kingdom. Eiri stood at the throne with Tatsuha standing beside him as his best man. Then, the doors opened. A couple of flower girls skipped in the front; throwing flower petals around the place, followed by some beautiful maidens who bowed the moment they reached the prince, and then Eiri saw the most beautiful sight. Coming towards him was his queen to be in the most beautiful wedding dress he had ever seen. It was a really long white silk dress with big thick straps that rested under his shoulders and a topaz heart in the middle. The dress looked very snug against him; Eiri could see all of Shuichi's curves perfectly. A long white see through veil covered Shuichi's face. In his hands was a bouquet of purple and yellow flowers. When he got to the front, the priest began the speech and when he was done, he placed their crowns on their heads. When he was done crowning them, he began the wedding vows. Both Eiri and Shuichi answered with a strong confident 'I do'.

"Then by the power of the five kingdoms, I now pronounce you king and queen of the Kage Kingdom." said the priest "Your Majesty, you may now kiss your queen." And so, Eiri and Shuichi kissed; causing the crowd to cheer with delight. When the kiss was done, Shuichi turned his back to the crowd and threw the bouquet to them. The person to catch it was Princess Ayaka, who stood beside Hiro in the front. After she caught the bouquet, she looked up into Hiro's eyes and they held each other close.

After that day, everyone went their separate paths. Hiro became the king of the Hana Kingdom with Ayaka as his wife and they had been inseparable ever since their own wedding. Tatsuha and Ryuichi decided to travel all around the world to tell jokes for money, but because the jokes weren't funny to other people and this resulted with the two losing money instead of gaining any, they chose to tell the story about Tatsuha and Eiri's switcheroo and how they stopped a long going war because of it. As for Eiri and Shuichi, they were happy just being with each other. They were currently watching over the kingdom from their balcony.

"Eiri I just realized something." said Shuichi as he looked up into Eiri's eyes.

Eiri looked back. "What is it?"

"Is it just me or are your eyes the same color as my pentagram?"

Eiri looked at Shuichi's pentagram. "I guess they are. I just noticed your eyes are the same color as my pentagram as well."

They began to laugh. "I guess that means we really _are_ meant for each other, doesn't it?"

Eiri nodded before pulling Shuichi close to him for a kiss. After the kiss, the two just continued to look at the kingdom. Eiri noticed that Shuichi looked like he wasn't really happy. He looked at the same direction his wife was looking at and understood why. He knew that Shuichi was happy to be with him, but it was the fact that Riku was still back in the orphanage. They were happy when the doctor said that Riku was going to be okay and live a full life, but it was the fact that Shuichi was going to be living in the castle far away from the child that upset him. Eiri knew there had to be something he could do. Then something clicked into his head.

"Shuichi?" he said; getting Shuichi's attention away from the orphanage "I've just realized another thing."

"What's that?" Shuichi's tone didn't sound like it but it felt like he was going to burst into tears.

"You and I are both male and as the king and queen of this kingdom, we need to have an heir."

"I don't understand."

"Because you're not really a girl you can't produce an heir, and according to the law, it says that if a queen is unable to produce an heir, the king and queen are able to adopt one."

Shuichi's eyes widened. "Does that mean...?"

Eiri nodded. "It means that you can adopt Riku."

Shuichi jumped into Eiri's arms and held him like his life depended on it. At the sudden impact, Eiri twirled around with Shuichi in his arms. "Oh Eiri." Shuichi cried "I'm so happy. But wait, what if someone tries to kidnap him and we never see him again for many years; just like what happened to me? Isn't it that commoners can't gain a pentagram or they'll die?"

"Not unless the priest performs a ritual; turning a commoner child into a prince or princess. Only then can they obtain a pentagram."

After hearing that, Shuichi didn't spare a thought. He was determined to go to the orphanage and adopt Riku. When he and Eiri got there, they were greeted by Judy. "I'm so happy to see you." she said as she gave Shuichi a hug "What can I do you two for?"

"Well as you can already tell, Eiri and I can't have a baby, so we're here to adopt someone." said Shuichi.

"Splendid! Do you have someone in mind?"

"I do."

"Well then, you know where all the children are." And so, Judy left them to search for Riku. Shuichi walked through the halls of the rooms where the younger orphans slept until he reached the last door on the right. He opened it the door and...

The room was empty.

There was no one in the bed. The room looked like it hadn't been touched for days. There was nothing; especially no Riku. Shuichi closed the door and looked over at Eiri with tears in his eyes. "He's not there. I didn't even think that Riku could've already been adopted. Anyone would've wanted to adopt him."

Eiri pulled him close to him. "Do you want to see if there's anyone else you'd like to adopt?" he asked.

Shuichi shook his head. "No. I just wanna go back home." Eiri kept his arm around Shuichi as they began to leave to go back to the castle. Shuichi couldn't stop the tears from falling down his face. Out of all the orphans he knew in the orphanage, Riku was the one he was closest to. It made him sad to know that he may never see Riku again.

"Mama?"

Shuichi turned around at the familiar voice to see Riku standing there. More tears fall down his face, but this time it was of happiness. He and Riku ran over to each other and held each other very close. They were so happy to see each other again and the sight of it made Eiri happy too.

"I was worried that you might've already been adopted." said Shuichi.

"Miss Judy said she didn't see the point of having my own room anymore since I'm no longer sick so now I get to sleep with the other orphans now." said Riku "I thought maybe you didn't like me anymore and that was why you were no longer living in the orhpanage."

Shuichi held him closer. "Oh sweetie of course I still like you. And that's why I'm here now. I'm here to adopt you."

Riku looked up at him with big sparkly eyes. "Really?"

Shuichi nodded. "And while I'm at it..." He stood up at brought Riku to Eiri. "I'd like you to meet your new father."

Eiri smiled and kneeled down so he and Riku were at eye level. "Hey Riku." he said "It's nice to really meet you." The reason he said it like that was because he only met Riku while pretending to be Tatsuha. But now, he was able to appear before the child as himself. Riku just looked at Eiri for a while before he smiled and hugged him.

"Papa!" he cried. Eiri smiled and pulled the child close to him. To that day, Riku officially became an heir to the Kage Kingdom and everyone lived happily ever after.

The End


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